The last three games have been a bit disappointing for Sikh Union A who have been compelled to play second fiddle to their crease adversaries.
Losing back-to-back matches to Stray Lions A, Kongonis A and Swamibapa A has elicited quite an excruciating feeling for the Sikhs whose fortunes had begun to look up.
The Sikhs visit newly crowned champions Kanbis A at Eastleigh High School ground in one of the two matches that will bring down curtains to Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Super Division League.
In the other closing match, Sir Ali A lock horns with Kongonis A at the former’s Sir Ali Muslim Club (SAMC) home turf where both teams will be angling for the much-needed maximum points.
At one point in the competition, the Sikhs seemed well in contention for greater things given the arrival of their three professionals from Pakistan, namely Ali Shahid Butt, Shoaib Akram and Ali Raza.
Asked about Sikh Union A’s downward trend, skipper Sukhdeep Singh candidly admitted things have gone haywire over the past few weeks
“The last three games have been a bit disappointing. I think after the 1-wicket loss to Stray Lions, our momentum went down. Maybe it affected us as a team but we have had a good season as a unit and I am proud of every individual’s contribution to every run scored, every wicket taken and every run saved while fielding. We should have added another 2 wins to our tally but maybe it wasn’t our day. We’re looking forward to winning the game on Sunday against Kanbis,” said Sukhdeep.
Kanbis have nothing to lose against the Sikhs as they have the title in the bag. But the Gurdeep “Sunny” Singh-led Sir Ali A will be leaving nothing to chance, despite the fact that they cannot dislodge Sikh Union from 4th position on the log.
Sir Ali A had an opportunity to fight for a credibly higher position but lost to Samaj A by 87- runs on September 15.
Sir Ali will enjoy the services of captain Sunny and the competition’s second-best run scorer Onkar Haresh Jadhav.
Longtime leader Onkar was poised for a top spot on the runs scorecard but not until Gautam Waghela of Ruaraka exploded with a scintillating ‘double century’ against Nairobi Gymkhana last weekend.
Gautam tops the runs scores with 727 runs from 10 innings, meaning Onkar will be compelled to score more than 130 runs against Kongonis to chalk up the coveted runs accolade.
NPCA SUPER DIVISION 50 OVERS LEAGUE-SUNDAY/29/09/2024 SUPER DIVISION
Sir Ali A vs Kongonis A (Sir Ali)
Sikh Union A vs Kanbis A Team (Eastleigh Ground)
SUPER DIVISION STANDINGS AFTER WEEK 14
1. Kanbis A P-11 W-10, L-1 (NRR 2.315) 40 points; Last 5: W-W-W-W-W
2. Swamibapa A P-12, W-8, L-2 (NRR 1.913) 36 points; Last 5: W-W-L-W-W
3. Ruaraka A P-12, W-7, L-3 (NRR 1.525) 32points; Last 5: W-W-W-L-W
4. Sikh Union A P-11, W- 5 , L-4 0 0 2 (NRR 0.048) 24 points; Last 5: W-W-L-L-L
5 Sir Ali A P-11, W- 4, L-6 (NRR-0.257) 18 points; Last 5: W-L-L-W-W
6. Nbi Gymkhana A P- 12, W-3, L- 7 (NRR-1.455) 16 points; Last 5: W-L-W-L-L
7. SCLPS YL A Team P-12, W-3, L- 8 (NRR1 -0.872) 14 points; Last 5: L-L-L-L-W
8. Kenya Kongonis A P-11, W- 2, L- 6 (NRR-1.325) 14 points; Last 5: L-L-L-L-W
9. Stray Lions A P-12, W- 3, L- 8 (NRR -1.787) 14 points; Last 5: L-L-W-W-L:
