Obuya, Gondaria take Kenya over the line in tense finish

Kenya squeezed out a two-wicket win against Netherlands in their ICC World Cricket League Championship encounter in East London on Sunday. Fifties from Dhiren Gondaria and Collins Obuya helped the visiting side go past the 225-run target with just three balls remaining in the chase.

Michael Rippon had earlier rescued Netherlands to help the side post 224 for 9 in 50 overs. Rippon's effort came after a top order collapse followed a strong opening partnership of 120 runs off 123 balls between Stephan Myburg and Wesley Baressi.

The openers hit half centuries to get Netherlands off to a great start after Rakep Patel, the Kenya captain, won the toss and chose to field.

Myburg hit 50 and Baressi scored 69 before the duo fell in quick succession in the middle overs. With the set batsmen back in the hut, Kenya capitalised on the situation to send back Roelof van der Merwe, Ben Cooper, Peter Borren and Pieter Seelaar cheaply. Netherlands went from 120 without loss to 157 for 6 in the space of 12.2 overs, and Kenya looked in control of the proceedings.

But Rippon resisted till the end, before perishing in the 50th over with 51 off 75 balls against his name.

It was Shem Ngoche, the left-arm spinner, who troubled Netherlands the most, registering figures of 4 for 33. Rakep and Obuya chipped in with two wickets each to lend support to Ngoche, giving Kenya a good chance of getting over the line.

Kenya's chase however, wasn't straightforward. Vivian Kingma got rid of Irfan Karim, the opener, in the fourth over, and Alex Obanda followed suit soon after to give Netherlands a glimmer of hope.

Gondaria then struck 63 off 61 balls, with the help of eight fours and a six, to put the chase back on track.

Once Seelaar had Gondaria caught by Van der Merwe in the 25th over, Rakep and Obuya took over. Though Rakep only scored 17 runs, his 36-run association with Obuya was crucial for Kenya to get closer to the target.

Obuya remained not out till the end, finishing with 56 off 80 to counter the Netherlands bowlers, who kept picking up wickets at regular intervals at the other end.

In the end, it turned out to be a tight finish, with Obuya taking the visiting side over the line in the final over to register Kenya's sixth win in the tournament.

Netherlands, who continues to top the eight-team points table with 18 points in 12 games, had beaten Kenya by six wickets when the two sides met at the same venue two days ago.