Bhudia braces for must win double in Kigali

Kenya are yet to play a complete match, three days into the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup sub Regional Africa A Qualifier in Kigali, Rwanda. Both their opening matches against St. Helena and Malawi were abandoned without a result as the rain kept pounding down at Gahanga Stadium in the afternoon, the venue for both matches.

With five matches to go and only two points collected so far, Kenya will be summoning the rain gods ahead of their double assignment on day four of the tournament where they come up against Mali in the morning at the IPRC oval and hosts, Rwanda in the afternoon at Gahanga stadium.

In spite of the slippery start, skipper Sachin Bhudia is soldering on with his team as they hope for fair weather. "We're looking to play two important games tomorrow as long as it doesn't rain in the afternoon. Pointwise, we need to win both and jump ahead as we look to top the table. Unfortunately, we can't control nature but we had some good runs on the board from the last two games and we're still confident about the upcoming games." Stated Bhudia.

Kenya are third on the log with the two points behind table toppers, Rwanda, who have bagged maximum points in both their fixtures against Botswana and St. Helena followed by Botswana who have tucked away an emphatic ten - wicket win against Lesotho and a singular point from their rain affected match against Seychelles on the first day.

Rain reigns supreme in Kigali

Kenya’s brilliance with the bat was in vain as the rain continued to get a chokehold of the results in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Qualifier Africa A in Kigali, Rwanda. The second match against Malawi turned up no result, the rains coming down with Kenya having bowled just an agonizing 19 balls in pursuit of a result.

For the second day in a row, both afternoon matches were abandoned without a result. Mali vs Sychelles was also abandoned just four overs after the latter had set 163 runs to win from their allotted overs.

Kenya elected to bat and put on 6/209 in their allotment, spearheaded by Collins Obuya’s 44 off 16 balls and backed up by Rakep Patel’s 40 off 24 balls. Obuya put on a 64-run opening partnership with tournament debutant Pushkar Sharma (18) before he found Donnex Kansonkho at mid wicket off Mike Chaomba in the in the fifth over. Sharma followed him back to the pavillion, caught on the ropes while attempting to accelerate in the ninth over to have the scoreboard on 2/89.

The departure of both openers brought Patel's cameo into play, his partnership with Irfan Karim (32) adding 55 runs to the total in just five overs, the pair departing just seven balls apart at the close of the 13th and 14th.

All rounder Tanzeel Sheikh made a show of his debut innings at the middle of the batting order, registering 30 runs from 13 balls with three sixes and one boundary therein before his stumps were rattled by Daniel Jakiel as he attempted one too many in the 18th.

Sami Sohail was the pick of the bowlers amidst the carnage, returning 2/20 from his four overs that comprised of the wickets of Obuya and Karim, who was caught behind by Chisomo Chete.

The result meant that Kenya could only manage two point from their two matches, sharing the spoils with Malawi just like they did with St. Helena yesterday. This also leaves them placed third on the eight team log behind table toppers Rwanda who have won both their matches to cop up four points and Botswana who have bagged a win and a washed out draw.

Kenya vs Malawi: Chasing the rain, hoping for points

Kenya will be praying to the rain gods to allow them an opportunity to play out their first match of the ICC Men's T0 World Cup Sub Regional Africa Qualifier A tournament as they take on Cricket Malawi this afternoon. Kenya will be back at the Gahanga Stadium where they were off to a flier yesterday afternoon, before the rains closed out the match at 0/48 with only four overs having been bowled.

Kenya shared points with St. Helena yesterday with Botswana and Seychelles sharing the spoils as well, despite the former's gallant effort to get to 2/115 before the heavens opened at the IPRC oval.

The squad remains unchanged, setting up Collins Obuya and Pushkar Sharma to extend their solid stand last evening and plug off the team’s top order collapses. The inform Irfan Karim completes the top order trio while the middle order will be beefed up by the services of Tanzeel Sheikh who is looking to cement his place in the team, Rakep Patel and skipper Sachin Bhudia.

Peter Koech and Lucas Ndandason will share the new ball if conditions allow but he newly minted skipper has an abundance of fortune as far as spin bowling is concerned while slotting in the pace himself. The twin left arm orthodox of Shem Ngoche and Vraj Patel has been fruitful with the option of Rakep Patel and the leg spin of Collins Obuya.

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