Cricket Tours Africa Nairobi Buffaloes proved to be the better side on both days when they defeated hosts Coast Pekee in the East African Premier League on Saturday and repeated the feat in the East African Cup the following day.
In the Twenty20 competition, it was the Mombasa based side that won the toss and elected to bat. Their plan of posting a good total on home soil was thwarted by the Nairobians who kept matters in check through some impressive bowling notably by Captain Collins Obuya who picked 3 for 9 off his 1.4 over spell and Nehemiah Odhiambo who weighed in with a valuable 3 for 20 off his 4-over spell.
Sagar Karia’s 39 provided some resistance before a combined effort from spin bowler Runish Gudhka and Rikesh Hirani safe hands brought an end to his measured innings of a run-a-ball. His inning came from 36 balls and included 7 boundaries.
The Buffaloes set about the chase of their target with ease and only needed to ensure they stay within reach of the asking rate as they overhauled the Coastal side’s target with 7 wickets in hand and 9 balls to spare. Gudhka’s 42 and man of the match Obuya’s 40 had helped them to a healthy position of 97 before Irfan Karim and Rajesh Varsani with an identical single run each ensured the side from the capital made a winning start to the event.
Lucas Ndandason, James Ngoche and Rajiv Sutaria picked a wicket a piece, but their second and third strikes were too late in the innings to have any impact on the match.
In the 50-over encounter, Ndandason put up an astonishing innings of 57 from 72 balls to lift Coast Pekee to a little of 150 in their second match of the East African Cricket Competitions. He came in with the scores at 79 and played a calm innings that included 4 fours and a six before he fell to Rikesh Hirani.
Raj Savala’s 3 for 16 off his 9-over spell, had the Coastal team’s middle order pinned down, after player coach Lameck Onyango and Nehemiah Odhiambo had shared 2 wickets a piece at the top of the order.
The 161, the hosts posted was not enough for the aggressive Buffaloes, who bullied their way to the target off 38 overs thanks largely to Irfan Karim’s 102-ball 75 that included 10 fours and a six. He found good support from opener Gudhka who chipped in with a useful half-century.
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