Nepalese wreak havoc in Kenya

Kenya’s recent eight-match Bi-series against Nepal fell short of the expectations after the home team lost both the T20 tournament and the 50-Overs contest.

Nepal won 3-2 in the five-match T20 Series with their bowling department being their biggest weapon in the matches played at the Nairobi Gymkhana Grounds.

Captain Sandip Lamichhane and Gyanendra Malla were the key men doing the most damage. Kenya’s biggest frailty was the opening order in the batting department which was not sustainable in building partnerships.

Kenya’s Coach David Obuya rotated the squad with a couple of young blood injected in the series after Kenya toured Jersey last month.

The likes of Gerald Mwendwa and Vishil Patel put in a formidable show especially in the latter stages of the tournament while Vraj Patel was superb on the ball as he took a ton of wickets for his team.

Bowling numbers

However, according to Nepalese Head Coach Manoj Prabhakar, Kenya’s Achilles Heel was the maturity in the bowling numbers to win more matches.

“I think Kenya overall gave us a good push in both 50-Over matches and T20 Series. It was an opportunity to test a couple of tactics and players. From my observation though, I noticed that Kenya’s team seems to be in a rebuilding phase.

“They definitely have to improve the bowling department, particularly at a medium pace which needs maturity. If they can improve line and length, they will be good,” he said as Nepal prepares for their final match in the series with a backdrop of a comfortable 2-0 lead in the three matches of the 50-Over series.

Meanwhile, Coach Obuya has expressed his disappointment with Kenya’s inability to close out matches when in the lead.

“Definitely, I am disappointed because as a team we failed to do justice for ourselves. Our bowling needed to be up to the task because with the scores we have been putting up when we open the batting, it was something we could defend. However, we allow the opponents to build and sustain partnerships due to a better run rate which then complicates things. Overall, the positives we pick is that the younger players have gotten great exposure which will build their confidence,” stated the former international.