George Dockrell’s 3-15, two of them at the top of the order ensured that Ireland restricted Kenya to a low total and in the process helped Ireland defeat the hosts by 6 wickets in Mombasa.
The Irish opened with the spin of Dockrell who repaid the faith shown in him by his skipper in picking Morris Ouma in the first over and then claimed Duncan Allan in his next over and when Boyd Rankin trapped Collins Obuya leg before the East African side was struggling at 11 for 3.
Tanmay Mishra made the most of his two missed chances, one a missed stumping while on 4 and a dropped catch on 6 to top score for Kenya with 34 and he found a compatriot in Ragheb Aga (25) with whom they put together 48 runs for the fifth wicket and briefly threatened to rescue Kenya.
Max Sorensen 2-17 and Alex Cusack 2-11 put the brakes on the stand and ensured Kenya never got out of sight finishing on a low of 107.
The Kenyans were guilty of some wayward bowling that yielded several wides and despite the fact that they got rid of the Irish skipper (William Porterfield) in the first over they never got control of the game.
Kevin O’Brien 30 and Ed Joyce 24 got the job done for the Europeans with 4.3 overs to spare the sides meet again on 23 and 24 February at the same venue for the final two Twenty20 matches.
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