NAIROBI, Kenya, Mar 6 – Swamibapa “A” skipper Rushab Patel has sung the praises of his team mates, following their 2023 Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) T20 League title victory.
On form Swamis racked up a comfortable 45-run victory against a much revamped Sikh
Union A side in the final played under floodlights at Shree Cutch Leva Patel Samaj (SCLPS) grounds on Saturday.
Put into bat, the Swamis amassed a decent total of 200 runs for the loss 7 wickets, with openers Rushab and Alex Obanda anchoring their innings with 52 and 60 runs apiece, which set the mood for their cup victory.
Yash Bhatt (23), Mitesh Sanghani (17) and Harendra Kerai (10 not out) chipped in with useful cameos to help Swamis post an imposing total.
Sikh Union “A” (155-7) won the toss and elected to bowl, a decision they didn’t regret either. The Simba’s, led by their indefatigable Skipper and opener Sukhdeep Singh (34) got
off to a flying start with middle order batsman Osama Aslam smashing a cool 53; though their spirited chase suffered rapid collapse of wickets at some point.
Rushab was all smiles and here is what he had to say: “Winning a tournament is always a great feeling. We came very close, we shared the trophy last year with Kanbis and we deserved to win as we have played some very competitive cricket in the T20 League.”
“As I had said before, the essence was to execute our plans and I must admit that my teammates did a fantastic job throughout the season. We have just been looking to take each team game by game and make sure we have our processes and plans in order and per each opposition.”
“I am a very strong believer of plans and execution, and the moment we started doing that as a unit we started to gel well and found the chemistry in our batting unit as well”
Rushab’s counterpart Sukhdeep expounded on their fairy tale season of the T20 League: “I think it has been quite a few years we have not reached the final. Our positive was being here. We knew we had played good cricket throughout the tournament, but today was a day in which we did give about 15 extra runs., which is quite a lot in T-20 Cricket”
Asked about their losing experience in the final, Sukhdeep continued: “I would say it’s not hurting as much, because we have played some good cricket through and through. We saw our Senior club officials, fans and family cheer us on and it was a privilege ruffling feathers in their presence”
“We won the toss and had planned to bowl. One thing about our team is that we have been chasing really well, hence the decision to bowl first. Sikh Union is now back, but we are also developing the youngsters as well.”
An elated Sikh Union Club Vice Chairman Hardial Singh Kalsi, better known as “Dali”Kalsi in the Motorsport arena in Kenya, congratulated his boys saying: “We are on the path of development of our game and I am glad that our Sikh Union Cricket Academy under the watchful eye of Avtar Singh Kundi is now bearing fruits with the engagement of our youngsters.”
The T20 season, traditionally a precursor to the 50-Overs Knockout Tournament also saw several players feted for their exemplary performances.
Kenya’s leg-spinning all-rounder in the 2003 World Cup Collins Obuya of Obuya Academy was named the player of the tournament whilst 10-year-old Kavit Joshi of Sikh Union took the accolade for the best youngster.
Ruaraka Sports Club’ run machine, Sachin Gill was declared the tournament’s best batsman
while Swamibapa’ s Yash Bhatt and Dhwanil Patel were named the best bowler and wicket keeper respectively
