Heading into the final group stage match, this was one filled with an absolute shocker as the side that had no chance seemingly before the match, actually ended up making it. Seeing that Kenya are now through towards the semi-finals, this is a huge breaking point for this group after two tough losses they faced during their first couple matches.
Looking like they have regained a lot of momentum back and seem to be firing on the right cylinders, it will be quite interesting to see if the side keeps on finding ways to cause more upsets. Captain Dhiren Ghondaria has finally found a philosophy they can run by, which seems like one he will use now that it worked really well.
Meanwhile, Nigeria were so close to make their first ever semi-finals but were held behind by a very poor bowling performance. A group that had look dominant to start this qualifier, they will need to really make a mark in the playoffs if they want to show that their growth has continued, since they may no longer have a chance of qualifying for the World Cup.
One side that was very hopeful just a couple days ago, they have lost that class and now are in a tight situation where the next couple matches are must-win for them. Captain Sylvester Okpe has shown great leadership, but it will have to continue if he wants to keep making these bigger tournaments and motivate his side to play better under pressure.
Nigeria: Very Decent Innings That Started With A Fast Batting Start
Nigeria has a very solid batting performance today as their top-order made another impact and really help them cross a score that would be deemed too low. Opener Sulaimon Runsewe had a tremendous 2nd wicket partnership with Isaac Danladi after Selim Salau had gone down for two runs early on.
A duo that was able to show their prowess once again and led this team to 78 before Runsewe got caught behind the stumps, he was able to put together a 27-run knock, despite it being off 32 balls. Hitting two boundaries, he was less of an aggressor compared to Danladi, but still made an impact by running quickly between their wickets.
Meanwhile, Danladi got to another half-century in the middle as he started developing a nice little 27-run combination with Prosper Useni. Seeing that Useni was also starting to take on the bowlers, he hit one massive six, but then was removed after getting caught. As this stronger Danladi innings continued, he was finally the next wicket taken after knocking 53 runs with seven big boundaries going on either side.
Someone who smashed one six, while also hitting a couple boundaries, losing him was a problem because then Vincent Adewoye went right a couple balls after. But, closing it out captain Sylvester Okpe scored 26 runs, while hitting three boundaries on either side before him, and his brother Isaac got removed to help Nigeria towards 147/7.
Kenya: Bowlers Had One Of The More Up-And-Down Performances
As Kenya had held Nigeria under 150 runs today, there was a lot of positive plus negative points to take out of their bowlers today. One guy who was really dominant was Sachin Gill, as he did a lot of great work in the power play and was able to create a lot of promise in his three overs during that period.
Having kept his economy around 5.00, this was someone who nearly took a wicket, but wasn’t able to get the line on his delivery right. Another big piece was Vraj Patel, who took two massive wickets during his four overs and was someone who limited the runs by allowing between 7 to 7.50 runs per over during their ending stages of the innings.
Jasraj Kundi was also able to get a wicket during his two overs, as he was another pretty high point for this side during the match. Now going to parts where they struggled, Kenya’s Peter Langat had a very expensive one over in this match, which opened up a lot of opportunities for Nigeria as he gave up 13 runs, and it felt like he was bowling way too short.
Captain Dhiren Gondaria also wasn’t able to produce much in his three overs, as he gave up 26 runs with no wicket-taking threat, while being taken on pretty easily. Rounding it out, Nitish Hirani did well in his first over with a wicket, but then was also quite expensive down the order.
Kenya: Slow Start Leads To An Enormous Job By The Middle Order For This Side
Seeing Kenya’s batters today, their innings started off very slowly, and it looked like they were going to fail another chase, but they finally got a couple big partnerships to win it. With captain Dhiren Ghondaria being the first wicket, he was taken out at 17/1 after scoring 12 runs and striking at a 150 rate.
Seeing this great ability of hitting, it got them to a start with a high run rate, as Pushkar Shivkumar Sharma was also able to hit two boundaries. Seeing that he was also going at a very similar rate and scored 15 of just 10 deliveries, he was the second batsman removed in the powerplay, which was a big loss since he usually started their big partnerships.
But, Rakep Patel and Sachin Bhudia were the story of today as they hit over 100 combined runs, plus got Kenya to a near-winning position. Seeing that Patel was able to score another half-century, he put together a 53-run innings and hit two long balls, while playing well over the 100 strike rate mark.
With him being the third wicket, their biggest performance came from Bhudia, who came out with a 57 not-out performance and hit 8 combined boundaries. Hitting four different boundaries around the ground, his maximums really took a huge leap into the chase and helped them just play more of a balanced way towards the end with Jasraj Kundi in.
Nigeria: Bowlers Had A Very Rough Afternoon With Several Dropped Catches
With Nigeria having to bowl second, this was a performance they will want to forget as they were nearly outclassed in every way, and what made it worse were the dropped catches. Isaac Okpe allowed 30 runs in his three overs, while he did have several near wickets dropped, but also seemed to miss his length a lot on the spinning deliveries today.
Captain Sylvester Okpe also took in one overs, but got smacked around for 14, while David Ankrah had a day to forget with him getting just 6 balls with 18 runs allowed. Seeing Isaac Danladi, who did have a wicket, go for an economy of 11, him and Prosper Useni were not able to round this attack well at all.
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