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Kenya down Gambia to keep T20 World Cup dreams alive

Kenya bowler Gerard Muthui celebrates a wicket against Gambia Basiru Jaye with teammates during the Africa Sub-regional qualifiers at the Nairobi Gymkhana on October 22, 2024. 

By  Victor Otieno

Reporter

NMG Sport

What you need to know:

  • The resounding victory saw Kenya cement second spot on the log in the ongoing Africa Sub-regional qualifiers “B” with six points.
  • Zimbabwe, who have also amassed the same number of points, are ranked first thanks to a superior net run rate. 

Kenya Tuesday moved a step closer to the final stage of the 2026 Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup qualifiers following their 129-run win over minnows Gambia at Nairobi Gymkhana.

The resounding victory saw Kenya cement second spot on the log in the ongoing Africa Sub-regional qualifiers “B” with six points.

Zimbabwe, who have also amassed the same number of points, are ranked first thanks to a superior net run rate. 

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Zimbabwe defeated Rwanda by 149 runs at Ruaraka Sports Club Ground, while earlier at Nairobi Gymkhana, Mozambique beat Seychelles by 60 runs.

The top two teams at the end of the tournament on Thursday will progress to the Africa regional qualifiers to be held next year.

The top two teams at the Africa regional qualifiers will clinch tickets to the upcoming World Cup to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. 

Gerard Mwendwa led Kenya in maintaining their perfect run in the Africa Sub-regional qualifiers “B” with a remarkable five wickets from four overs where he conceded just seven runs and earned a maiden.

He was deservedly crowned the man of the match. Batting first after winning the toss, Kenya set a target of 175 runs from the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs of their innings.

The hosts bowled out Gambia for 46 runs in 12.4 overs of their innings. Kenya headed into the match on the back of a 111-run win (DSL method) over Mozambique and a five-wicket victory over Rwanda.

For Gambia, it was the first match they played in the tournament, having missed their first two matches against Rwanda and Seychelles due to late arrival. The West Africans arrived in Nairobi on Sunday.

Experienced batsman Rekep Patel top-scored with 63 runs from 40 overs including four fours and four sixes.

Having struggled in the matches against Mozambique and Rwanda, Kenya’s opening batsman got his groove back in the clash with Gambia, scoring 43 runs from 34 deliveries.

He muscled six fours. But it was not the case for his opening partner Neil Mugabe as he was dismissed for a duck, having been run out by Abubacarr Kuyateh. Against Rwanda, Mugabe delivered just three runs from seven balls. Kenyan batsmen Sachin Gill, Irfan Karim, and Sachin Bhudia delivered 21, 18, and two runs respectively.

Andre Jarju took the most wickets for Gambia at three. Gambia’s hopes of successfully chasing Kenya’s target were extinguished when they lost wickets in quick succession. After Mwendwa, Sachin Bhudia took the most wickets at three followed by captain Shem Ngoche with two.

Asim Ashraf was Gambia's top scorer with 19 runs.

Wednesday's matches

Seychelles v Kenya Ruaraka Sports Club Ground  9:30 am

Mozambique v Rwanda Nairobi Gymkhana 1:50 pm

Gambia v Zimbabwe Ruaraka Sports Club Ground   1:50 pm

In the headlines