Ngara B beat Legends by 17 runs to clinch NPCA Division Two T20 title

Ngara Sports Club B are the winners of this year's Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) Division Two T20 League following brilliant displays at Sikh Union Club ground.

The Piyushkumar Patel led outfit had their title campaign effectively sewn up when their crease adversaries Legends Cricket Club failed to beat the target set by Ngara in the morning innings.

Legends won the toss and elected to field first, with Ngara B setting a decent target of 172 for 3 in 20.0 overs.

In reply, Legends (155/7 in 20.0 overs), started off well with openers Raj Shetty (81 off 54 balls) and Navpreet Singh (24 off 19 deliveries) putting on a good show before both were caught out by Piyush and Milind Patel respectively.

Asked where the game was lost, Thika based Legends skipper Kranti Kumar said: "Both teams played well. We won the toss but decided to bowl first because of the morning conditions. However, Ngara batted extremely well as they took the risks when it really mattered."

"From our end, when we were batting in the first 10 overs, the game was well in our hands but the required run rate was quite high and we had to keep pushing. Overall, I think the game changed when Raj Shetty got out."

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Ngara's soft-spoken skipper Piyush heaped praise on their Coach Martin Suji for guiding them to their towering title success.

“The boys are over the moon. The hard work they have put in throughout the T20 season has now paid off and finally we have this coveted trophy in our mitts.”

Asked how batting first played out in a Cup final, Piyush expounded: “Initially, when we started our game, we applied our basics well thanks to our coach who gave us good guidance all through.

“I must commend our openers Jitesh Patel ((36 off 46) and Murtaza Abass (60 off 41 ball) for a job well done."

Ngara who finished second in Group A of the League made it into the final following a 46- run win over An-nadil Jamaly Cricket Club A earlier in Saturday's Qualifier Two at Sikh Union grounds.

Ngara had initially beaten Stray Leopards B by 5 wickets in the Eliminator in a Match played at Ruaraka on March 10.

Legends, on the other hand, sailed through to the final in Q1 after defeating An-nadil Jamaly by 7 wickets at Ruaraka Sports Club on March 9.

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Awards

Ajay Hirani (Meru CC) - season's highest run score with 342 runs

Lokesh Anand (Legends CC) - best bowler with a total 16 wickets in nine innings

Raj Shetty (Legends CC) - best fielder with a total of 11 dismissals achieved in 8 innings

Navpreet Singh (Legends CC) - Most Valuable Player (MVP).