Leaders Swamibapa A will meet second-placed Kanbis A in Qualifier 1 of the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Twenty20 League play-offs next weekend.
On form Sir Ali Muslim Club A, who wrapped up their campaign in third, will square it out with fourth placed Sikh Union A in the Eliminator.
This follows the conclusion of the league segment of the NPCA T20 competition in which each team played a total of 14 matches.
The winner between Swamis vs Kanbis will earn a direct qualification to the final. The loser in Qualifier 1 will meet the winner of the Eliminator in a decisive match that holds the key to the second slot of the final.
NPCA secretary Narendra Patel, aka NK, said the Eliminator and Qualifiers will be played next weekend paving the way for the final on the following weekend.
“We started the T20 League in January and witnessed some exhilarating displays of cricket artistry,” Patel said. “It’s always exciting when the tussle for the play off slots goes down to the wire. We anticipate some cut throat competition, now as we head into the knockout stages of the competition, standard have been set and only the sky’s the limit.”
Former champions Swamibapa A wrapped up the league with a cumulative total of 44, two clear-off their crease adversaries Kanbis A.
Kanbis A, who led the competition into the penultimate weekend, suffered a humiliating 40- run blow to dip to second as Swamibapa A wrapped it up on the summit.
Sir Ali A only needed a win out of two matches but made good use of their chances to prevail to the next level.
Sir Ali A tied with Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj A at Ngara Sports Club heading into their last match against Kanbis A.
Sir Ali won the toss and elected to bat first scoring 188 for 7 in 20.0 overs. In reply, Kanbis were bowled out for 148 in 18.1 overs, registering their third defeat of the season.
Sir Ali’s Souvick Gosh was named the man of the match after he collected 3 wickets, and smacked 39 off 31 balls.
Kanbis skipper Dhiren Gondaria was the toast of the A side with 71 off 33 balls, made up of 10 boundaries and 3 sixes.
In other matches, Ngara A defeated Kongonis A by 40 runs at Nairobi Club, while outgoing champions Stray Lions A beat Samaj A by 8-wickets.
Swamibapa A defeated Nairobi Gymkhana by 24 runs at Gymkhana. On Saturday, Kongonis beat gymkhana A by 67 runs, thanks to Shem Ngoche’s 58 off 52 balls and Alex Obanda’s 31 off 31 deliveries. Stray Lions defeated Ruaraka by 8 wickets on Saturday to finish their campaign on a positive note.
And it was double celebrations for Sir Ali as their B side secured a slot in Division One play offs. Sir Ali B defeated Goan Institute by 60 runs to wrap up their league matches on the summit with 44 points. But Obuya B, Samaj B and Swamibapa B have pending matches, so it will be a wait and see situation.
