By Oscar Pilipili

Namibia beat Kenya by five wickets to claim the Twenty20 quadrangular series in the final match played at the Wanderers Cricket Club in Windhoek, Namibia.

Kenya, who were put in to bat after the hosts had won the toss and opted to field, had a promising start racing to 73 runs from just 8 overs.

Openers Tanmay Mishra and Alex Obanda found boundaries with ease within the field restriction overs during the match played Wednesday.

Obanda was the first one to depart for 30 off 24 deliveries including two fours and a similar number of sixes.

Mishra and Morris Ouma then guided the away side to 130 in 15 overs before the former fell to Craig Williams bowled for a 53-ball 68.

Ouma then departed 11 runs later, skipper Collins Obuya (28) and Rakep Patel (19) then muscled their way to 179 and a final over that produced 8 runs seemed just about good enough.

Namibia in pursuit of Kenya’s total ensured a strong start through Pikky Ya France’s 38-ball 54 and even a double strike by Shem Ngoche could not prevent them winning the title.

Risky runs

Fifteen runs were required off the last over and Namibia captain Sarel Burger (30) helped himself to a six and scrambled for a couple of risky runs to power his side to the T20 Quadrangular title off the final ball with five wickets in hand.

Netherlands finished third after beating South Africa Emerging Players by 42 runs in the third-place playoff.

Batting first, Netherlands scored 206 for 5 in their 20 overs, helped by Wesley Barresi’s 45-ball 70.

An 87-run stand between Tom Cooper and Barresi took the side to a strong 129 for 2 in the 13th over before Daan van Bunge and Bukhari hit a few blows to take the side past 200.

In reply, South Africa Emerging recovered briefly from a bad start, as opener Cameron Delport added 58 runs for the second wicket with Khayelihle Zondo.

Five wickets

To advance to the final, Kenya had beaten Netherlands by five wickets in one of their preliminary matches.

Chasing a target of 173 to win, Kenya was on the back foot at 18 for 2 after the loss of two quick wickets.

However, a 54-run stand between opener Alex Obanda and Obuya brought their chase back on track.

Once Obanda fell for 47, Obuya paired with Rakep Patel and the duo put on 83 runs off 44 balls to take Kenya to the brink of victory.

Obuya then guided the side home with one over to spare.

Earlier, the Netherlands openers got off to a blistering start after choosing to bat first.

Stephan Myburgh and Michael Swart shared a 97-run opening stand that was broken by Ragheb Aba, who bowled Myburgh for 41.

Swart then added 51 runs with Tom Cooper to take Netherlands to 148 for 1 in the 15th over, creating a solid platform for a big score.

However, once Swart and Cooper fell, the other Netherlands batsmen struggled, managing only seven runs in the last two overs.

Swart’s innings of 89 came off 55 balls and included six fours and five sixes.

Aga was the pick of the Kenyan bowlers, finishing with figures of 3 for 24 off his four overs.

Kenya was using the tour of Namibia to prepare for forthcoming international fixtures. 

Scotland host Kenya in a series of matches on June 30 to July 7 at Aberdeen.