NCCA 50-Over league titles decided with a round to go
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Reading Time: 4min | Wed. 01.10.25. | 21:51
Satyalaksha failed in his spirited bid to surpass the 1000 runs as he ended the season with the highest run score of 862 which he has since accrued at an average 95.78
Ruaraka “A” and Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj “B” Team lifted the 2025 Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NCCA) 50-Overs League champions following brilliant displays throughout the season.
On a tense week 14, where any slip-up would have resulted in a different outcome, Ruaraka held their nerves to win their final game and second Super League title to boot in 3 years.
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With an insatiable appetite for success, on-form Ruaraka successfully wrestled the coveted NCCA title from 2024 holders Kanbis “A” after a resounding three-wicket win over hosts Samaj A.
Ruaraka won the toss and put Samaj to bat; with the latter smacking a decent score of 246 for 9 in 50.0 Overs.
But Ruaraka carried the day with a fulfilling score of 247 for 7 in 46.0 Overs, but not without a struggle.
Samaj gave Ruaraka some torrid time in the latter's innings, with batsmen Satyalaksha Jain, Neelakash Ravindra Tambe and Purshottam Vekariya (c) being dismissed for a duck.
But the scary situation did not deter the Thika Road troops from fighting on, thanks to man-of-the-match Dashrath Chavan (71 off 83 balls) and Harshin Varsani (63 off 44 balls) who were the standout players for Ruaraka.
Hitesh Varsani (40 off 58 deliveries), who is also the wicket keeper, and former national team skipper Morris Ouma (46 off 66 balls) also played pivotal roles in Ruaraka’ s fightback.
Ruaraka only needed a win in their last outing to win back the silverware that eluded them last season.
Due to his early dismissal, Satyalaksha failed in his spirited bid to surpass the 1000 runs as he ended the season with the highest run score of 862 which he has since accrued at an average 95.78.
Ruaraka racked up the 50 overs League crown with final points score total of 48 whilst immediate former champion Kanbis beat Kenya Kongonis A by 3 wickets at their Eastleigh home turf to settle for second position on a closing tally of 44 points.
Hapless Swamibapa A, who have been strong contenders for the title slipped to third position with a shock 4-wicket loss to Nairobi Gymkhana A.
Batting first, Swamibapa A were bowled out for 182 in 40 overs in a shocking batting collapse after being at 182/6 with last 4 wickets failing to add a single run to the scoreboard.
The side who two weeks back defeated the eventual champions Ruaraka and only needed to win their last two games to win the league against Ngara A and Gymkhana A surprisingly ended up losing both their matches.
Swamis, missing key players on national duty and with the captain Rushabh Patel recovering from injury sustained at national team camp, were left to fill in a huge void with youngsters who couldn’t handle the pressure.
Nairobi Gymkhana A have been the dark horses of the 2025 50 Overs league finishing the competition in fourth place after years of poor showing.
Gymkhana have lost only thrice in the 50-Overs league this season to Samaj A, Ruaraka A and Swamibapa A earlier in the season.
They even have a chance to dislodge Kanbis A and Swamibapa A from their positions depending on how their last game against Sikh Union A pans out, this weekend.
Kanbis, who like the Swamis have also been affected by players traveling for national duties at different stages of the league had to grind out a hard-fought victory against Kongonis A team.
Batting first, Kongonis A put in a decent total of 200 runs but failed to bat their 50 overs with Shem Ngoche starting with the bat with an unbeaten 99 runs as he ran out of partners before he could complete his maiden century of the season.
In response, Kanbis A managed to chase the target with the loss of 7 wickets.
Stray Lions, former champions who have had very difficult couple of seasons finally registered their second victory of the season by defeating Ngara A by 81 runs with Subham Jadhav smashing a cracking unbeaten century (117 runs off 92 balls).
Meanwhile, 2025 Division One 50-Overs Champion Samaj B maintained their perfect run in the league with a 7-wicket advantage over Swamibapa B.
This was their 13th consecutive victory in the league which secured the Division One title for them.
Samaj B, who already savour an unassailable 52-point tally, hosts Sir Ali B at the Shree Cutchi Leva Patel Samaj School, Nairobi ground and will be hoping to finish the league unbeaten.
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