Like the Main League, Group 1 sees a two way tie at the top between Kanbis A and Stray Lions. Through a mixture of poor weather and controversy these two sides are yet to play out a result this season and the winner of the group will come down to how many bonus points they can earn from their final games. Both should win with Kanbis taking on Ruaraka while Stray Lions meet Swamibapa B. Should either be upset, there is still a remote chance that Kanbis B, who gave their A team a close run for their money last weekend, could get through if they take maximum points from their final encounter against bottom placed Aga Khan.

Last week saw Swamibapa B register a comprehensive 7 wicket win over Ruaraka on the back of a fine all-round performance from Lawrence Okoth. Having taken 4/22 in helping to restrict Ruaraka to 97 all out, he then hit 28 not out to guide his side to victory along with the veteran David Tikolo (26*). Earlier rikesh Gohil made 42 for Ruaraka while Mukesh Vekaria (2/24) was the pick of the bowlers for a losing cause.

Stray Lions saw their game against Aga Khan awarded to them when Aga Khan could not field a team, while Kanbis A were made to work all the way for their 21 run win against their B side. Alpesh Bhudia was the man of the match for the A team with 63 runs in the first innings followed by a devastating spell of 3/3. His runs came off just 29 deliveries and together with Dharmendra Mepani (45 off 22) took his side to a formidable looking 212 all out. Rikesh Hirani (59 off 43) set the B side up well in their chase, but he lacked support and with Arvind Halai (2/15) supporting Bhudia, they were eventually bowled out for 191. The close result once again illustrates the depth of the Kanbis club and other teams are going to have to bolster their development programs if they are going to pose a challenge in the coming seasons.

In Group 2, Swamibapa A essentially cemented top spot with a crushing 123 run drubbing of Premier Club. Kenyan internationals Steve Tikolo (83) and Maurice Ouma (50) did most of the damage in Swamibapa’s total of 216/6 with Sanjiv Patel (3/34) the pick of Premier’s bowling. Premier never looked like threatening the score against tight bowling from Swamibapa and limped to 98/6 in their 20 overs. Shem Ngoche (2/20) and Lameck Onyango (1/2) combining well for Swamibapa.

Sir Ali Muslim A missed their chance to close the gap with their match against Simba Union rained off and though they are looking good in second, they could miss out on a semi finals berth if they lose heavily to Swamibapa in their final match and Telca, who had a bye last week, are able to take enough bonus points off bottom placed Simba Union.

Group 3 has already virtually been decided with top placed Gymkhana taking on win-less Ngara in their final match while SCLYL come off the back of a surprise win against Jaffery and will face Nairobi institute A whose match against Gymkhana was called off last week due to a wet wicket. Should SCLYL trip up in their last game, there is a chance that they can be overtaken if either Nookers or Jaffery are able to score a big win against the other. Nookers are coming off an easy 6 wicket win over Ngara, while Jafferys will still be smarting from their loss to SCYLY. Having only managed to post 97 in their 20 overs, thanks to the father-son combination of Aasif (33*) and Irfan (40) Karim they were not able to restrict their guests as Snehal Bhuva (39) and Paresh Kerai (26) did enough to see their team home. Some hope for Jaffery though in that it was another youngster, Kaunain Assaria (2/20) that registered their best bowling figures.

If the other groups are all but decided, Group 4 is anything but with 5 of the 6 teams still mathematically able to qualify for the semi finals. Group leaders Qutbis consolidated their position with a 90 run win over the newly formed Aaryans after Idris Badri (98) and Murtaza Ebrahim (93*) put on a fantastic batting display to set a total of 216 for the loss of only 1 wicket. Aaryans were never in the chase and grafted to 126 for 3 from their overs.

Sir Ali B missed a chance to pressure the other teams in the group when their match against Oshwal, the only team now out of the running, was rained off. Unable to play, they saw Nairobi Institute B blast the group wide open with a convincing 6 wicket win over second placed Golden XI. Having restricted golden to 148/5 Ritesh ? (61*) and Saleem Cockar (32) steered their side home to give themselves a chance of a semi finals berth if they can upset Qutbis in their final game. Golden XI still have every chance of going through however as their last match is against Oshwal, while Sir Ali could also progress if they beat Aaryans and earn enough bonus points to overtake the winner of the Qutbis – Institute match. With all to play for, it should be a tense day of cricket in Group 4 at least on Sunday.

Venues and schedule for the semi finals will be announced once the qualifying teams are confirmed.