Stray Lions C head to South C on Sunday for the key match against hosts and leaders Ngara Sports Club B that could potentially decide the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Division 2 title this weekend.
Ngara B top the NPCA log with 36 points, 6 clear of their closest challengers Stray Lions C.
Should Ngara B emerge victorious this weekend, they seal the Division 2 title with an unassailable points score of 40.
Ngara have played 11 matches so far and have two to go. Stray Lions, on the other hand, have played 10 and have three pending fixtures going into the weekend. Losing to Nagra this weekend means they lose the title race as the maximum they can manage after that will be 38. All the NPCA 50-Overs League titles have been taken save for Division 2.
Kanbis A and B already have the NPCA Super and Division 1 titles in the bag. Shree Cutch Leva Patel Samaj Development clinched the NPCA Division 3 a few weeks back denying Kanbis a hat-trick of season wins. But Ngara Team Manager Harsh Patel says his boys are leaving nothing to chance and will fight their hearts out to tame the Lions “away from their den”.
Harsh: “We have two pending games and Stray Lions have 3. We are playing Stray Lions at home and if we win the game we win the league. It will be a tough and explosive match, as both teams will get a maximum of 2 senior players from the team above to play on Sunday. Thank God it’s based in Ngara and we have home advantage. We are 6 points clear, so we need to beat Stray to win the league.”
Stray Lions C Captain Subin Abraham predicts a battle royal. Subin: “Coming to the match against Ngara B will be almost like finals for both the teams.
At least for Ngara, if they win, they clinch the title, but for us even after winning this match, we still have 2 more crucial matches to be played against Wolves and Obuya B and a win in both these next matches will only help to claim the title over Ngara even they win their next match.”
Stray Lions C are expected to filed the likes of Peter Kituku, Aman Jarwal, wicket-keeper Libin Raj and Vinod Kumar among others.
Ngara B will hinge their hopes on the likes of Jitesh Patel, Deep Patel, Jay Patel and skipper Piyushkumar Patel. In other Division 2 matches, Kongonis B take on GI Unicorns B at their Nairobi club backyard.
The much-revamped Swamibapa Development will be up against Obuya B at Jamhuri High.
Meanwhile, with Super League done and dusted, the remaining Division One matches will still be in progress. Sir Ali B host SCLPS YL B at their Sir Ali home turf.
Washington Onyango
| Oct 05, 2024