NPCA Rsults Week 3

After much frustration, here are the results for Week 3 of the NPCA competition:

.

SUPER DIVISION:

.

Kanbis Sports Club 'A' vs. Swamibapa Cricket Club 'A' at Eastleigh Sec Sch.

Featuring last season's top two teams, this was always going to be one of the major games in terms of determining the minor premiers. Swamibapa batted first, but thanks to the continued fine form of Thomas Odoyo (4/23), they never looked comfortable. Vijay Kalyan contributed 2/10 in Kanbis restricting Steve Tikolo's side to a mere 77 runs. It was the Tikolo brothers, David (24) and Steve (14) who top scored for Swamis, but a poor effort with the bat by them considering the players at their disposal. Kanbis didn't have it all their own way in the reply however, as one again the bowlers were able to cause some worry. Joseph Angara the pick with 2/15, and Nehemiah Odhiambo taking 2/44. Kanbis steadied, and though the top scorers only made 26 (Arvind Halai) and 25 (Jadavji Jeshani), they still managed to ease to a 5 wicket victory.

.

Sir Ali Muslim Club 'A' vs. Nbi Gymkhana Sports Club 'A' at Sir Ali Muslim Club.

The other match in the top division saw Sir Ali bowl first against a confident Nairobi Gymkhana. Rakep Patel (80) and Shashank (57) lead the way with half centuries as the visitors posted 262 for 8 Wkts. Shahnawaz (2/36) and Abdul (1/29) the pick of an otherwise lacklustre bowling effort. Gymkhana by comparison bowled well, with Intercontinental Cup hero Hiren Varaiya leading the way with his 4/28. Darsheet Shah (3/38) also did his claims for selection no harm at all with his effort. Top scorers for Sir Ali were Tariq Alvi (33) and Shiraz Syed (23), but the team could only manage 124 All Out and Gymkhana went on to win by 138 runs.

.

DIVISION I:

.

Ngara Sports Club vs. Shree Cutchi Leva Youth League at Ngara S.C:

Once again it was the Patel partnership of Nikul Patel (4/35) and Harshid Patel (2/6) that lead the way for Ngara as they dismissed the visitors for 91. Only Dilip Kerai (27) and Ritesh Pindolia (12) bothered the scorers, but it was never going to be enough. SCLYL's bowlers, Mahendra Bhudia (3/29) and Naran Jagani (1/13) put in a valiant effort, but it was not sufficient to stop Jagrat Patel (30) and Jai Solanki (23*) steering Ngara to a comfortable 6 wicket win.

.

Swamibapa Cricket Club 'B' vs. Kongonis Cricket Club 'B' at Pindolia Academy:

With Kongonis batting first, Mukesh Hirani (5/28) must have thought he had done enough to give Swamibapa the win. Stubborn resistance from Richard Collins (45) and Matthew Rudd (44) however meant Kongonis were able to reach a fairly modest, but defendable 183 All Out. Prakash Pindoria (1/15) the next best bowler for Swamibapa. Perhaps the best illustration of how the run chase went was the fact that he was also the second best with the bat for them, scoring 9. Snehal Jesani top scored with 28, but it was Kongoni's day as Jasraj Warah (3/29) and the experienced David Waters (2/25) helped restrict them to
158 All Out, giving Kongonis an important 25 run victory. Not a good day at the office for Swamis!

.

Premier Club vs. Kanbis Sports Club 'B' at Premier Club:

Swamibapa may have had a bad day, but Kanbis were on a roll. Premier batted first, and the home fans would have been bouyed by the efforts of Sanjiv Patel (52) and Snehal Patel (47). The rest of the team however only contributed a further 81 between them as Ramesh (3/31) and Pravin Jesani (3/43) kept them down to 180 all out. Kanbis' reply never looked in doubt, and though Brijan Patel (2/14) and Mitul Patel (1/35) took a couple of wickets, the afternoon belonged to Dharmesh Mepani. His 90 backed up by 28 from all rounder Ramesh Pindoria, meant that the visitors were always going to be in control and Kanbis waltzed home to a 7 wicket win.

.

Ruaraka Sports Club 'A' versus Parklands Sports Club - Rhinos at Ruaraka S.C:

Jimmy Kamande may have struggled against Bangladesh with the bat, but Parklands will be happy they signed him as he took 3/30 with the ball as Ruaraka were reduced to 167 all out. Hitesh Purohit gave support with 2/18. Ruaraka's top batsmen were Amit Shukla (38) and Rikesh Gohil (34). Rhinos went after the total with purpose and despite Hitesh Gohil's 4/49, reached the target with ease. Arun Balarama (50*) and Anand Ghore (46) the stars with the bat. Parklands Rhinos win by 6 wickets.

.

DIVISION II:

.

Nairobi Nookers Cricket Club vs. Aga Khan Sports Center 'B' at Nairobi School:

Again, it was a player that failed against Bangladesh that starred in this match as Kennedy Obuya proved he still has it, at this level at least, with 64 as Nookers set a total of 209 all out. Amit the next best batsman just missing out on his half century with 47. Mohsin Ali impressed with his figures of 5/21 and recieved solid support from Nooramin Ismail (2/8). Karim Pradhan (41) and Mohsin Ali (31) were the pick of Aga Khan's reply, but 3 wickets a piece for
Moin Ali )3/35) and David (Obuya??? - my guess) (3/26), meant that Nookers were able to hold on for a tense 25 run win.

.

Nbi Institute vs. Nbi Gymkhana Sports Club 'B' at Nbi Institute:

It certainly seems to have been a bowler's day in Nairobi last weekend. Institute batted first and were bowled out for 173 with Kirit (3/24) and Shoeb (2/18) taking the honours. Nairobi Institute scored most of their runs through Khuzema (23) and Abhijeet (19), but it was their bowler, Saleem Cockar who really swung the balance of the match. He took 5/32 and aided by 3/22 from Ritesh meant that Institute were able to hold on to win by an unexpected 86 runs. Only 2 Gymkhana batsmen made it to double figures,
Vikas (22) and Shoeb (10).

.

The other match scheduled to take place in Div II, Simba Union Sports Club versus Stray Lions Crcket Club 'A' was postponed.

.

DIVISION III:

.

Parklands Ndovu vs. Golden XI Parklands S.C:

Again, it was the bowlers who took the limelight in this match. Batting first, Golden XI were restricted to 150 all out, despite a half century from Mitesh (55) and 25 from Viral. Both Ravilal Manji (5/22) and Neel Shah (2/25) would be happy with their effort with the ball for Ndovus. Not to be out done, the Golden XI bowlers also put in fantastic efforts and were rewarded as Rushab (5/29) and Amit M (2/13) did the job in restricting Parklands to 103 all out. Shikul Shah (16) and Hemant Bhatt (15) the best batsmen, but no way near good enough to prevent Golden XI going home with a 47 run Victory.

.

Nbi Jaffery Sports Club 'B' vs. Sir Ali Muslim Club 'B' at Nbi Jaffery S.C:

Elsewhere, it may have been a bowler's day, but no one thought to mention this to Khashif Rashid. The following is the match report sent to me from one of the players, and I will let it tell the story:

.

History of sorts was created this Sunday at Nairobi Jaffery's ground. Sir Ali's captain won the toss and elected to bat on a badly prepared wicket. Asif Ali and Akbar Ganatra opened the batting for Sir Ali. As has happened in the past few matches, SAMC lost an early wicket when Asif Ali mistimed a pull and it went straight into the hands of square leg. In came Khashif Rashid, a Kenya Cricket Academy player (the academy is no longer running) and thats when the runs started flowing. Sir Ali lost another cheap wicket when Akbar was out for a slow 12 in the 12th over. By now Khashif was beginning to see the ball with much ease and he reached his fifty with a six. Asif Khan was more than happy to give Khashif a stand and he did so with Khashif reaching his hundred with a four in the 24th over. Asif was finally out, slashing at a legspin delivery and getting caught at point for a well made 44. In came Tawfiq Rafiq and he took some of the pressure off Khashif by punishing the Jafferys bowling attack. Khashif reached his 150 off a six and by then it was beginning to look like he would score a double century, the first by a Sir Ali player. He didn't disappoint, reaching the milestone in the last over of the innings with his sixth six. Tawfiq had got out earlier on 54. Khashif scored 21 fours as well as his 6 sixes. Sir Ali finished on 371 for 4, their highest ever total. Captain Nadeem Butt must have been celebrating his decision to bat first. Sir Ali were given an extra 30 runs for a slow over rate by the Jaffries bowlers, so the target of 402 looked far out of reach for the Jaffries batsmen who looked more keen to play out the 50 overs than to chase the score. Jibran took 3 wickets, Danish and Nadeem also did the same with Hardeek taking the final wicket. Sir Ali won by 191 runs and get the full 20 points.

.

Saqib Khan (64) and Mujtabah (34) were the top scorers for Jafferys, but there seems to be no stopping the rampant Sir Ali B. The way they are going, they are not only looking at promotion, but will be worrying the teams in Division II as well.

.

Results from the final match in Div III were not submitted, so not sure who won between Stray Lions 'B' and Ruaraka Sports Club 'B' at Highridge Pr Sch.