Monday, March 7, 2011

Cricket World Cup: Canada too good for sloppy Kenya

World Cup Group A, Delhi (Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium):
Canada 199-5 (45.3 overs) beat Kenya 198 (50 overs) by five wickets 


Poor Kenyan fielding helps Canada to win
Canada secured only their second-ever World Cup victory with a five-wicket win against Kenya in Delhi.
A 132-run, fourth-wicket partnership between Jimmy Hansra (70) and captain Ashish Bagai (64 not out) took Canada beyond their victory target of 199.
Earlier, seamer Henry Osinde led the way with the ball with a career-best 4-26 as Kenya were dismissed for 198.
Only Tammay Mishra and Thomas Odoyo provided any African resistance with half centuries.
It was Canada's third-successive victory against Kenya and leaves the Africans firmly rooted at the bottom of Group A after their fourth defeat of the tournament following emphatic losses to New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Canada's previous World Cup victory came in the 2003 tournament when Austin Codrington took five match-winning wickets in a 60-run victory over Bangladesh in Durban.
Kenya skipper Jimmy Kamande won the toss and elected to bat on the sluggish Feroz Shah Kotla surface but his team's top order was soon decimated by Osinde's new-ball burst.
Ashish Bagai celebrates victory with John Davison
Bagai (left) hit seven boundaries in his 97-ball knock
The Ugandan-born seamer recorded figures of 3-7 from just four overs, including removing Maurice Ouma with the second ball of the match when the opener edged a catch to Harvir Baidwan at second slip.
Collins Obuya provided a gallant counter attack with a breezy innings of 31 before he was clean bowled attempting to hit across the line to a straight ball from Baidwan in the 12th over.
The experienced Steve Tikolo could only make 12 before he was trapped lbw by Rizwan Cheema as Kenya teetered at 57-5.
But Mishra and Kamande steadied the innings during the middle overs, although rotund leg-spinner Balaji Rao accounted for the Kenyan captain with a superbly flighted delivery in the 30th over.
Odoyo and Mishra kept the scoreboard ticking, putting on a 57-run seventh-wicket stand before Mishra was dismissed one run after notching his fourth one-day international fifty.
And Odoyo could not push Kenya over the 200-mark when he was bowled by Baidwan from the last delivery of their innings.
Kenya made early progress into Canada's top order at 48-3 and should have had Hansra out second ball when he mis-timed an attempted cover drive to mid-off.
But Seren Waters somehow contrived to miss a simple catch, allowing Hansra to seven boundaries and two maximums in his entertaining 99-ball innings, his first career international half century.
He was eventually dismissed in the 43rd over, caught at mid-on off the bowling of James Ngoche, but Bagai maintained his composure with a boundary through the offside to secure victory with over five overs to spare.
However Kamande insisted the result could have been different had chances been taken.
"Although we had 198, we still believed we could defend that. One crucial catch was dropped and the guy capitalized on that. I won't blame anyone," he said.
Meanwhile a jubilant Bagai added: "It was part of the goal coming in [to beat Kenya].
"We're living in the present. Henry bowled fantastic first up, got us the advantage, and then we pulled it back [before] the two guys batted well to get us over the line.

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