By Marion Malinga
Kenya Defeat Nigeria By 8 Wickets To Pick Second Win
Nigeria 107/8
Kenya 102/8
Kenya won by 8 wickets.
Nigeria was on the busy side on Day 2 of the Pearl of Africa T20 Series as they took on both Uganda and Kenya.
Despite the long flight from Nigeria and with barely any time to train, they won the toss and chose to bat 1st. Openers Chimezie Onwuzulike (17) and Daniel Ajekun (17) gave them a solid start with an opening stand of 32 inside 4 overs but once the 1st wicket fell, there was no resistance from the rest of the batting until Peter Aho (26) and Mustapha Yusuf (16) delivered some late fireworks down the order, and with that set a modest 107/8 in their 20 overs.
In the chase, Alex Obanda (37) and his opening partner Gurdeep Bhagat (44) took care of business immediately with a 64 run stand inside 5 overs, with the former being the aggressor scoring 3 maximums and 4 boundaries. Irfan Karim (9 not out) and Rushabhvardhan Patel (12 not out) ensured the 8 wicket victory for Kenya.
There was a reward for Captain Shem Ngoche (2/9) and Gurdeep Bhagat (2/16) with the ball.
A second win for Kenya after their 22 runs opening win against Uganda.
Uganda Bounce Back With Strong 56 run win against Nigeria.
Match Summary
Uganda 152/4 20 overs
Nigeria 96/6 20 overs
Uganda won by 56 runs.
Riazat Ali Shah was the star of the team as Uganda secured its first victory at the Pearl of Africa T20I series.
The all-rounder scored 40 runs hitting six boundaries as Laurence Mahatlane's men roared to a 56 run victory against a rather depleted Nigerian side.
Having won the toss, captain Brian Masaba sent his charges in to bat, and off they set 152 losing 4 wickets in the process.
The opening batsmen Saud Isam and Arnold Otwani combined for a paltry 25 runs, but Riazat aside, Mahatlane had two other lads in Ronak Patel and Dinesh Kumar Nakrani to count on. The former turned out with 34 runs while the latter notched 38 not out.
With the ball, youngster Frank Akankwasa picked three wickets, first bowling out both Daniel Ajekun and Joshua Anyannaike, and then combining with Ronak to jet out Oluwasesan Adedeji.
It was little wonder when Mahatlane heaped praise on his boys in the post-match interview.
"There were a lot of positives today. There's still room for improvement and a lot of work to be done, but I thought the batting group did well to get to 150 and the bowling group was extra special to concede only one extra at the end of the 20th over.
"I just think that mentally, this team is starting to get to the right place in terms of self-belief and backing themselves out there in the middle."
Despite an 8 wicket defeat in the morning game, Nigeria head coach Asanka Gurusinha was still upbeat about his side saying the two East African teams were simply superior.
"These were two very far superior sides than us. For us, it was coming out here to check out where we are. This is not an excuse, but this is the first competitive cricket these guys are playing in two years. They haven't played any cricket since the UAE tournament in October 2019. So it's like a learning thing for them, and a learning thing for me too because I'm just nine months in. Mainly we came here to know where we stand and then I can know which areas to work on."
The teams take a much-needed rest and action returns on 13/09/2021.
