Sworn enemies Kenya, Uganda in do-or-die T20 Quadrangular Series tie

It is going to be a battle between two wounded lions when Kenya and Uganda lock horns in the Four-Nations Twenty20 Quadrangular Series at Nairobi Gymkhana Oval on Wednesday.

The derby clash is literally a final for the two rivalling neighbours with the loser losing any hope of reaching Friday’s final whereas the victor of the highly-anticipated stays alive in the tournament. 

The two East African nations are still yet to get off the mark after Uganda suffered its second successive loss to Qatar by six wickets at Nairobi Jaffrey’s Oval on Tuesday. The Steve Tikolo-tutored side had earlier lost to Saudi Arabia by 31 runs on Monday.

The Arabs made it a perfect pair when they subjected Thomas Odoyo’s Kenya to a 39-run defeat in a low-scoring match broadcast live on ZUKU TV at Nairobi Gymkhana Oval on Tuesday.

“We paid the price of complacency,” said Odoyo, without trying to find any excuse for his team that was listless on the day.”

“There was nothing wrong with the wicket. It played true. But poor shot selection cost us the game. In T20, a score of 120 runs is manageable on a good batting track like the one we played on.”

SMALL MISTAKES

Chasing 124 for victory, Kenya’s batting line-up crumbled like a pack of cards. The home side was routed for 84 with three un-bowled overs. Such was their batsmen’s no-show, only two players Dhiren Gondaria (17 off 22) and all-rounder Shem Ngoche (22 off 21) got more than 10 runs. 

Saudi Arabia’s Ibra-ul-Haq (3/9) was the tormentor in chief, skittling through the Kenyan top-order like a hot knife through butter claiming the prize scalps of Irfan Karim (6), Rushab Patel (0) and Rakep Patel (10).  

But Odoyo insists that the poor show was just a blip and his troops will make amends in the must-win encounter against Uganda.

“Saudi Arabia are already through to the final. We must now win our two remaining games starting with the one against Uganda to take the other spot,” said Odoyo.

“We lost to them in the ODI but we will not gift them another win. We are on the back foot and must bounce back. We have the experienced players to turn the tide for us. We shall don the thinking caps and stay on our toes.” 

For Tikolo’s Ugandans that are out of contention for the T20 title, it is a chance to complete a rare double over the hosts in an international tournament. 

“They may be our big brothers but we have always shown that we can match them,” said Uganda skipper Brian Masaba.

“We beat them in the ODI Series and now it is time for us to complete the double in the T20s. We have been losing because of small mistakes but Kenya always knows how to get the best performances from us.”

Tikolo, too, is hoping for a repeat of last week’s heroics when he got one over his former teammate Odoyo.

“We are not a bad side although we have lost two games in a row. Against Kenya, we will bring ‘A’ game. And if we can win again, I will be happy.”

At the Nairobi’s Jaffrey’s Ground, Saudi Arabia will take on Qatar and if the latter win, they could as well be in final with a game to spare depending on what happens at Gymkhana Oval.