• Rakep’s unbeaten century, along with a poor showing from Ruaraka with the bat, was enough to dethrone the champions.
• Kanbis didn’t have the best start, losing Nelson Odhiambo (11) and Dhiren Gondaria (6) for just 35 inside the powerplay.
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Immediate national team skipper Rakep Patel has praised his team Kanbis after reclaiming the NPCA Super League title by beating a strong Ruaraka Sports in the final at Eastleigh High School.
“We are very happy to reclaim the title. It is a huge achievement for the team. We’ve had a great season and today’s match was one of those we needed to win. The boys lived up to the expectations,” Rakep said.
Rakep’s unbeaten century, along with a poor showing from Ruaraka with the bat, was enough to dethrone the champions. Ruaraka finished third behind Swamibapa, who dominated Sikh Union’s batting — four points behind Kanbis.
After scoring 254, Swamibapa hoped that Ruaraka would give Kanbis a tough fight, but that wasn’t the case. Kanbis’ bowlers tormented Ruaraka’s batters, bowling them out for 88 runs in just 16.3 overs, giving Swamibapa no chance of clinching the title for the first time in years.
Rakep faced 72 balls, smashing 11 fours and four sixes on his way to an unbeaten 100, leading Kanbis to 344 for 9. In reply, Ruaraka struggled, with Dhruvam Patel wreaking havoc in their lineup, taking 5 for 33. Maxwell Swaminathan also impressed, grabbing 3 for 11.
“We aimed to take early wickets. Pushkar Sharma and Gautam Wagela are their key batters and once we got them out, the rest of their lineup couldn’t deliver. Dhruvam bowled brilliantly with the new ball and getting five wickets against a team like Ruaraka is no easy feat,” Rakep added.
Kanbis didn’t have the best start, losing Nelson Odhiambo (11) and Dhiren Gondaria (6) for just 35 inside the powerplay. However, opener Pushpak Kerai (37) and Sachin Bhudiya (95) laid a solid foundation with a third-wicket partnership of 96.
After Kerai’s dismissal in the 23rd over, Kanbis quickly lost Swaminathan, but Bhudiya and Rakep steadied the innings with a brief stand of 35 runs before Bhudiya was bowled after facing 71 balls, which included 16 boundaries.
From that point on, Rakep unleashed an onslaught on Ruaraka’s bowlers, with Dhruvam chipping in with 34 from 16 balls.
Ruaraka’s response fell apart early, losing six wickets inside the powerplay. Viraj Jadhav (23) and Purshotam Vekariya (19) managed to delay the inevitable, helping their side avoid an even worse collapse.
At Jamhuri High School, former Ruaraka all-rounder Sachin Gill bagged five wickets as Swamibapa bowled out Sikh Union for just 33 runs in 10.4 overs.
Swamibapa, batting first, posted 254 with 10 balls to spare, courtesy of skipper Rushabh Patel’s 79, Gill’s 42 and Harshvardhan Patel’s 28. Gill ended with figures of 5 for 17, while Vraj Patel picked up 3 for 4, dashing Sikh Union’s hopes of a top-three finish.