Ireland narrowly beat Kenya by 10 runs in a hotly contested ICC Intercontinental Cup match at the Mombasa Sports Club on Monday afternoon.
The wickets offered a lot for spin bowlers on the opening day and did not abate on the second day as Kenya offered little resistance upfront only for the tail to wag and fall agonizingly short of the target of 119.
Ireland had been bowled out cheaply for 75 and 152 but they fought back brilliantly to take a valuable 14 points from the game after conceding the first innings lead. They bowled the hosts out twice for 109 and 108 respectively.
Albert van der Merwe picked up 11 for 68 for his man of the match performance and George Dockrell 9 for 87 for Ireland assisted him from the opposite end, while Kenya’s Hiren Varaiya took 12 for 73. Shem Ngoche, the other spinner had figures of 4 for 39. Spin bowlers picked up 36 of the 40 wickets to fall in the match.
The next match between the two teams takes place on Saturday 18th February at the same venue in the form of the World Cricket League Championship.
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