Kenya stunned Nepal in a low-scoring thriller that went right down to the wire. After restricting Kenya for 101, Nepal would have backed themselves to chase down the target easily but apart from Rohit Paudel no other batter scored in double digits.
Chasing 102, Nepal lost Pawan Sarraf off the first ball of the match. Arjun Saud struggled to rotate strike and got out in the third over to Shem Ngoche. Nepal's top-order was back in the pavillion in the fourth over. Gyanendra Malla also lost his wicket to Elijah Otieno.
After the top-order collapse, Paudel played the anchor role but wickets fell at the other end. In the middle overs, Vraj Patel and Rakep Patel did not let Nepal batters let off the
hook. The new batters used up deliveries but did not score much.
In the last over, Nepal needed 12 runs to win the game. In the first four deliveries, Lamichhane and Paudel dealt only in singles off Rakep’s bowling. Paudel got out off the penultimate delivery. He scored 47 runs from 55 deliveries. On the other end, Lamichhane remained unbeaten four a run-a-ball four runs. Nepal could manage 94/9 in reply and lost the game by seven runs.
In the first innings, Kenya suffered a batting collapse after they struggled to score in the powerplay overs. They were 48/6 in the 14th over but cameo from Lucas Oluoch and skipper Ngoche's partnership helped them cross the 100-run mark. Oluoch scored 33 runs from 18 deliveries including three fours and three sixes.
Lamichhane was not just economical but rushed through Kenya’s batting order. The leg-spinner took five wickets and conceded just nine runs in his four overs. His 5/9 is the best bowling figures by a Nepal bowler in the format. Also, it is the second-best bowling figures in the history of T20I cricket in a losing cause.
After the loss, the five-T20I series is evenly poised at 2-2. The winner of Nepal's tour of Kenya in the shortest format will be decided on August 30 when the two teams lock horns at Gymkhana Club Ground, Nairobi.
