Ruaraka A skipper confident ahead of weekend’s NPCA 50-Overs Tournament Final against Swamibapa

Ruaraka A captain and right handed batsman Sachin Gill believes that the ‘unexpected’ run the team has made in the 2023 Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association season will spur his team on as they take on the defending NPCA T20 champions Swamibapa A in the finals of the 50-Overs tournament scheduled for this weekend at the Nairobi Jaffrey's Grounds.

Ruaraka A- who made it into the semifinals of the T20 tournament early this month- will be seeking to right their wrongs then, in lifting their maiden title after a herculean task that saw them wipe out favorites Sir Ali Muslim Club by five wickets to book a finals slot.

Their opponents however made it to Sunday’s finals without hitting a ball after their challengers in the semifinals - Nairobi Gymkhana A - withdrew from the tournament after the club’s Honorary Secretary Kalpesh Solanki issued a letter of the team’s dissolution to the NPCA secretary Narendra Patel.

“Our semifinal win against Sir Ali was a confidence booster as we were not able to reach the knockouts of the NPCA T-20 competition despite a spirited run in the 50 overs season,” Sachin Gill - the T20 tournament best batter told NPCA ahead of the big final. “Coming to think about our bowling prowess, there is no gainsaying that we have been very dominant as a unit for the past one year and all the credit goes to our under-19 maestros who have delivered for us.”

In the aforementioned semifinals, Ruaraka A limited SAMC to only 62 runs in 17.4 overs, some part of the game Gill believes will be hugely challenged by Swamibapa, boasting of their top order bats-men consisting of Rushab Patel, Alex Obanda and Dhwanil Patel.

“Swamibapa is one of the most consistent teams in NPCA competitions and having already taken the T20 title, they cannot be taken lightly, more so in our case,” Gill said. “Talking about their batting and bowling, they have a good mix of experienced and talented youngsters which is helping them stay consistent on the crease and it will be a good challenge playing them in the final given what we also have to offer as a team.”

On the Thika based team’s top order, Gill admitted that there would be not many changes to their lineup saying, “There won’t be a lot of changes in the squad that will face the Swamis as we have all performed really well lately. But then again, the batting order will depend on the match situation. We’ll definitely shuffle it accordingly while also keeping our core batting order in mind.”

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Also in the weekend’s slate of cricket matches, there will be Division 1 and 2 knockout matches played as follows:

DIVISION ONE SEMIS (SUNDAY)

Swamibapa B vs Stray Lions B (Peponi)

Kongonis A vs SCLPS B (SCLPS)

DIVISION 2 QF (SATURDAY)

SCLPS C vs Obuya Academy B (SCLPS)

DIVISION TWO SEMIS (SUNDAY)

Mario Tours Nakuru vs Meru CC (SU)

Swamibapa Development vs SCLPS C/Obuya Academy B (Jamhuri).