Kenya grabbed their first win from three games in the ICC World Cricket Cup Qualifier 2014 at the Bay Oval No2 ground yesterday. While they have restored some pride after defeats by Papua New Guinea and Namibia, they are likely to need a big win against the Netherlands to qualify for the Super Six stage of the tournament.
Kenya won the toss and elected to bat in order to set Uganda a big target to chase. They lost their first wicket with just nine runs on the board, before Alex Obanda took control to smash 80 runs. The dashing opening batsman put on a 112-run partnership with Collins Obuya (71), before he was caught behind by the keeper. When Obuya was dismissed the Kenyan side were in a strong position at 202/5.
Veteran Kenyan player/coach Steve Tikolo kept the momentum going with a quick 55 off just 41 balls as his side set Uganda a good-sized target of 253/8. Uganda started the reply in a patient manner, with their first wicket falling after 48 runs. At 112/3 they were right in the match, albeit falling behind the required run rate. The Kenyan breakthrough came when a fielder threw down the stumps to dismiss Abram Mutyagaba for 61, with the following batsman dismissed for a duck four balls later.
With the rate climbing to over 10 an over, panic set in. A 50-run partnership between Frank Nsubuga (32no) Richard Okia (28) wasn't enough, as the Ugandans were restricted to 206/8.
