Kenya loses Victoria series opener

The Kenya Women’s Cricket team bowled off the Victoria Series on a sour note, losing their opening fixture by 13 runs against U.A.E Women at the Lugogo Cricket Oval this morning. 

Electing to bowl, Kenya were quick to rack up UAE’s top order but a couple of missed chances meant that Avanee Patil and Geethika Jyothis added 18 runs to a wagging tail to drag the score to 8/82 with a ball to go.

Skipper Chaya Mughal led from the top of the order with a 21-ball 24, four boundaries therein despite wickets falling around her. Lavenda Idambo opened the account for Kenya with Lavanya Keny and K. Sharma falling for 8 and nought, respectively just four balls apart inside the power play.

The skipper’s departure instituted a dominoe effect, causing the Emirates Women to fall as a pack as they lost 4/16 to find themselves at 6/54 in the 13^th over.

Idambo finished on 2/18 with Daisy Njoroge also bagging 2/21 off her entire allotment.

Needing 85 to win, Kenya were off to a great start, going par to par with the required run rate until the fifth over when they lost skipper Sharon Juma in the fifth over for 10 off 9 balls with the scoreboard on 2/19. Kenya then lost 4/14 including the settled Monicah Ndhambi on 11, having gobbled up 22 runs in her seven - over stay at the wicket.

Venasa Ooko struggled and never recovered, having required twelve balls just to get off the mark and finishing on 15 off 28 balls despite sticking in up to the 17^th over. With the sore on 7/59 when she departed, only 12 runs were added to the total, with debutant Marion Juma accounting for 11 of them.

Induja Nandakumar was the pick of the bowlers for the Emirates Women with 2/12 off her entire allotment while Keny bagged 2/3 off 2 overs.

Kenya take on Rwanda, who lost to Uganda by 7 wickets in the second match of the day tomorrow afternoon in their second match of the series at the same venue.