Nairobi Gymkhana ‘A’ return home after three weeks away in the hopes that a home advantage will earn them a positive standing against Ruaraka Sports Club ‘A’ when the 2021 Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association (NPCA) 50 – over League enters the seventh week.
Gymkhana are on a torrid run with zero wins from their six encounters despite having a solid mix of experience and talent. Their plans consistently failed to materialize despite the chops and additions to the team and a little tinkering to their batting order.
Budding all – rounder Yash Talati hopes the team brightens up his maiden Super League appearance soon. Speaking to kenya-cricket.com, Talati expressed his interest in fast tracking his appearance on the international scene with better performances. “I think my performance has been good so far but there’s still a lot of room for improvement as I want to represent Kenya on the international scene. The Super League has been a great learning experience for me because of the knowledge passed down to me by the seniors that we have.”
Hoping for the best against Ruaraka on the backdrop of a floundering top order, he suggests sticking to their basics and relying on experience. “I think our top order batting is where we aren’t doing as well but then we have the quality batsmen who have played on the national level so it won’t be long before they score the big runs,” notes Talati.
Talati will be crucial in the middle-lower order, having shown his ability to absorb pressure while also taking wickets with his spinning partner Aarnav Patel.
Top order batters Karan Kaul and skipper Kavi Dosaja, all – rounders Lucas Ndandason and Dominic Wesonga and opening bowler Martin Ndandason have all been in the national set up.
Gymkhana could make use of a returning Shay Shay in a top order that hasn’t shown much returns. . The only huge scores in the top four have come from Dosaja (53 – against Swamibapa) and Harshvardhan Patel (58 – against) Sir Ali. Dosaja and Dave have a total of 89 and 38 runs from 5 innings while Patel and Kaul have returned 84 and 67 from 4 innings respectively.
The Ndandason brothers have had glimpses of success with the ball and Gymkhana will be hoping Lucas tops up the half Century he scored against Stray Lions two weeks ago and for Wesonga to capitalize on his good opening form.
Ruaraka, on the other hand, have little to worry about after being shaken by Sikh Union Sports Club ‘A’ but coming out on top two weeks ago. The Thika road – based side have won three on the trot and will be hoping the washed out match against Obuya Cricket Academy last week does not crush their momentum.
With the Uganda Cricket Association (UCA) trio of all – rounders Brian Masaba, Kenneth Waiswa and opening batsman Zephaniah Arinaitwe playing their last match of the season together before returning to national duty, the visitors will be hoping to cash in.
With Purshotam Vekariya literally not dropping the ball anytime soon and centurion Pushkar Sharma not letting up with the bat, Ruaraka look set to stretch their dominance from the fifth placed position.
Ruaraka will also be hoping that Pankaj Bhudia sparks his all – round performance from their opening match while also banking on Vishil Patel’s excellence with the ball as Elijah Otieno continues to be away for medical reasons.
Kenya Cricket 