Hosts Kenya on Thursday lost by five wickets the opening match of their five-series Twenty20 encounters against Nepal at Nairobi Gymkhana Club.
Nepal, ranked 14th in the men’s T20 world standings, won the toss and elected to field. Nepal’s all-rounder Sompal Kami was named the man-of-the match.
Kenya’s all rounder Lucas Oluoch (left) bowls against Nepal monitored by Umpire Charles Kariuki during their first of the five International Twenty20 Cricket match at Nairobi Gymkhana ground on August 25, 2022.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
He took three wickets for 22 runs in his four overs outing.
Kenya scored 130 for the loss of 8 in 20 overs of their innings. Nepal’s chase was successful but tight, getting there at 133 for 5 in 19.2 overs.
“Generally 130/8 was a good score. The fielding was excellent except the 15 extras we gave away, which I think was way too many. It is an area we need to work on in our coming matches,” said Kenya coach David Obuya.
Nepal’s captain Sandeep Lamichhane said they were happy to start the series on a winning note.
“The match was good. Both teams played very well. One hundred and thirty runs was an easy chase for us and in our next match, we would like to restrict Kenya further,” said Lamichhane.
Kenya is yearning for a win in the T20 contest so as to improve their global T20 men’s ranking. The nation is currently ranked 30th in the ICC T20 ranking that is topped by India.
South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Uganda are the African countries ranked above Kenya at positions four, 11, 15 and 25 respectively.
Opening batsman Alex Obanda was Kenya’s first casualty of the match as he was bowled out in the first over by Sompal Kami, just after hitting a six in the first over.
Opening batsman Irfan Karim was Kenya’s top scorer, scoring 34 runs in 44 balls with three boundaries, before he was caught and bowled by Lamichhane in the 15th over. All-rounder Lucas Oluoch was Kenya’s second top scorer with 31 runs, including five fours and one six in the 13 balls that he faced.
He also took two wickets in four overs. Bowler Nehemiah Odhaimbo scored 19 runs from 21 balls.
