SCOTLAND produced a marvellous fightback to win a low-scoring encounter in the first of two Twenty20 matches with Kenya yesterday.
The shortest form of the game may be best known for elaborate stroke-play and high run-rates but this one failed to conform. On a slow track, boundaries were at a premium and the Scots who made better use of the conditions, battled their way to 113-6 before dismissing their visitors for 78.
Pete Steindl, the coach, said: "It's not often you bowl sides out in T20 games. That was pleasing. We knew 113 was a decent total on that track and the bowlers took early wickets to get their run-rate spiralling."
Defending such a modest total, the Scots needed early wickets and Gordon Goudie obliged when he clean-bowled Alex Obanda with just 11 runs on the board. His new-ball partner Neil Carter then found the leading edge of Morris Ouma's bat and Gordon Drummond took an easy catch at mid-on.
Drummond had Kenya reeling on 22-3 when he bowled Collins Obuya in the next over and a second bowling change by Preston Mommsen, the captain, brought immediate reward when Majid Haq had Tamnay Mishra caught by Moneeb Iqbal at long-on.
Suddenly, Scotland's total looked much more formidable and everything Mommsen tried increased Kenya's woes, Calum MacLeod com-ing on to have Rakep Patel caught by Goudie before Irab Karim was run out. Nehemiah Odhiambo hit MacLeod for only the second boun-dary of the innings but the Scot trapped his man lbw two balls later.
Goudie returned to bowl Nelson Odhiambo for a duck and Scotland secured victory when Goudie took the final wicket with seven balls left.
Having won the toss and elected to bat, the Scots probably expected to score more than the single that was their lot from the opening 14 deliveries.
The fifth over, by Elijah Otieno, brought some release, MacLeod pulling the first boundary of the innings before a couple of Berrington drives both yielded three runs. Scotland's total after the power-play was only 30 and Nelson Odhiambo, replacing his brother, then bowled MacLeod for 13.
Freddie Coleman struck the second ball he faced for 4 but Scotland's total at the halfway stage was a modest 51 for one, before Coleman was out lbw.
Mishra took the wickets of Matthew Cross and Berrington with successive deliveries and Scotland were in danger of failing to reach three figures as Varaiya maintained the squeeze by conceding just nine runs from his four overs. The final two overs brought 29 runs, though, Iqbal's cameo including the first 6 of the match. Goudie matched his colleague with a straight effort over the sightscreen while Mommsen finished unbeaten on 24. The sides meet again tonight.
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