Paul Stirling made short work of a middling Kenyan total of 131 for 7 in the second T20I to take Ireland home with 15 balls and eight wickets to spare. He remained unbeaten on 65 as Kenya once again failed to test the visitors and thus, conceded the three match series 2-0.
Even though Kenya put in a slightly better batting performance than the first match but couldn’t put up a match winning total as Irish bowlers got wickets at regular intervals. After having been dismissed for paltry 107 yesterday, the Kenyan batsmen were asked to set a total for Ireland after Collins Obuya won the toss.
To prevent any early breaches, their openers remained cautious until Duncan Allan missed a reverse sweep to be bowled in the fifth over. The other opener, David Obuya chose to play anchor but received little support from the other end. Collins Obuya and Tanmay Mishra couldn’t do much as Kenya slipped to 69 for 3. Finally, David was unfortunate to be given leg-before on 28 from 35 deliveries. Thanks to some lusty blows by Rakep Patel, who hit two sixes in a 22-ball 27, Kenya were able to post a total in excess of 120.
In reply, the Irish openers made a rollicking start. Both Pail Stirling and William Porterfield hit an array of boundaries as the Kenyan bowlers were once again guilty of not using the new ball properly. They added 63 in little more than seven overs before Porterfield was dismissed for run-a-ball 23.
Kevin O’Brien also fell cheaply but Stirling batted with lot of authority during a bustling 65-run knock from 52 balls. He used the cut to good effect and hit nine beautifully timed boundaries. Gary Wilson came to the party with a nice little 22-run cameo.
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