Kenbright Cup T20: Consolbase Simba, SS Acrovent Rhinos Are 2023 Champions

Kenbright Group Chairman Paul Gondi awards the 2023 Kenbright Cup New Age Premier League T20 Above-40 tournament champions Consolbase Simba the champions trophy at the Nairobi Gymkhana on Sunday January 29, 2023.PHOTO/JONAH ONYANGO

NAIROBI, Kenya- The SS Acrovent Rhinos and Consolbase Simba are the 2023 Kenbright Cup New Age Premier League T20 tournament champions.

The SS Acrovent Rhinos beat Kifaru Chargers by 7 wickets to lift the regular tournament trophy at the Nairobi Gymkhana on Sunday evening.

Likewise, Consolbase Simba overcame Kifaru Chargers by 4 wickets to win the men’s over 40 years cup.

In the regular clash final, SS Acrovent Rhinos scored 67 runs for the loss of three wickets in 6.5 overs.

***Prolific players in the tournament were awarded by sponsors Kenbright. PHOTO/ JONAH ONYANGO***

Pramod Prabhu of SS Acrovent Rhinos had the highest runs at 42 off 18 balls as his team mate, Joms Joy who had 12 runs off 10 balls bagged the man of the match.

In reply, Kifaru Chargers scored 64 runs for the loss of 10 wickets in 14.3overs.

The SS Acrovent captain Dean Antony said picking early wickets with the new ball against Kifaru Chargers propelled them to the deserved victory in the one sided final.

“This is the first time we are winning this cup,” Antony told Standard Sports.

“We started this third edition of the tournament on bad footing by losing our opening match to V-Create Warriors.

“But we managed to pull through in the remaining games to make it to the finals and eventually win the cup,” added Antony who also bagged the Man of The Series Award.

**Kenbright CEO Ezekiel Macharia presents Kifaru Chargers with runners-up trophy in the men’s over 40 years category. PHOTO/JONAH ONYANGO**

Kifaru Chargers captain Praveen Mogasati admitted they did not give their best in the final which they have now lost thrice in a row.

“It was a bad day in office, last year we also lost to Sunshine Ndovu in the final, we hope to lift the trophy next year after missing the cup by a whisker three times now,” Mogasati stated.

Kenbright Chief Executive Officer Ezekiel Macharia said they are glad to have supported the tournament that helped Kenbright to mark its 30 years of operation in Kenya in style.

“The turnout throughout the event was amazing.

“The competition helped to popularised cricket to the corporates who are now willing to put in their support.

“Many Kenyans were able to embrace the sport during the tournament period.

“We are also happy that the event gave us value for our money,” Macharia said.

***The SS Acrovent Rhinos (in orange) in action against Kifaru Chargers in the regular tournament at the Nairobi Gymkhana on Sunday evening. Kifaru lost the match by 7 wickets. PHOTO/JONAH ONYANGO***

The tournament was managed by the New Age Sports Management which is a group of cricket fraternity based in Nairobi.

The competition was contested by eight franchises playing in two round-robin formats.

One format was for players above 40 years and the regular format for those under the age bracket.

Ahead of the tournament, the franchises were allowed to buy players from an auction that was held in October. Most of the players were from the Nairobi Provincial Cricket Association League.

The high level cricket, now in its third edition, was conceived during the Covid-19 pandemic with an aim to get people outside their houses after the first wave of the pandemic that kept many mostly indoors.