Langat rocks Mali for six

Peter Langat’s sensational 6/17 was the cherry on top as Kenya went on to hammer tournament debutants, Mali by 10 wickets at the IPRC Oval in the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup sub Regional Africa Qualifier A tournament in Kigali, Rwanda. 

Playing in his first ICC T20i tournament and only his second time to represent the country in the format, Langat attributes his brilliant performance to persistence and is grateful for the results. "Persistence can change failure into an extraordinary achievement," he says. "It has been about having clear plans and looking to execute them as best as possible and I'm happy that in this instance, it translated to performance." added Langat. 

Electing to bat, Mali were no match for the tournament’s favourite, losing 5/4 after their first wicket, Langat running rampage with four of the wickets. 

Mali recorded six ducks as they set Kenya a flimsy target of 31 runs to win, chased down in just 15 balls for no loss. 

The win also ends a frustrating start to the tournament that saw the first two matches against St. Helena and Malawi abandoned without a result.

With the win, Kenya adds two points to get to four points right next to table toppers, Rwanda, with Botswana losing to Malawi and dropping to third with three points.

Kenya face hosts, Rwanda in their afternoon match.

 

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.