Cricket: Bostwana on revenge mission against Kenya

Former Kenya international Joseph Angara is hoping to register his first ever win with Botswana over his home country on Thursday when the two teams clash again in the inaugural Continent Cup Twenty20 International (T20I) Africa competition at Nairobi Gymkhana.

Angara, who played for Kenya between 1997 and 2005, said Wednesday that it will be a huge feat should they hand the hosts their second defeat of the competition.

Uganda and Rwanda are the other teams taking part in the four-nation tournament where teams are facing off three times, before the top two sides meet in the final on June 21. Angara has been Botswana’s  coach since July 2015.

Before the inaugural Continent Cup T20I Africa competition, the two teams had met twice, with Kenya triumphing in one, while the other was abandoned due to rain.

Kenya beat Botswana by eight wickets in an International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Africa qualifier held in Kigali, Rwanda on November 24, 2022.

And last Saturday, Kenya again beat Botswana by eight wickets in Continent Cup T20I Africa competition.

“It (beating Kenya) will be a big thing for the boys and that is what we are eying. I still hope and believe that they can do it ,” said Angara, who was part of the Kenyan team that reached the semi-finals of the 2003 ICC World Cup that was co-hosted by Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Botswana heads into the match on the back of three successive losses, having fallen by 64 runs to Uganda on Wednesday.

In the match, Uganda, who won the toss and elected to bat first, posted 153 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs of their innings. Botswana hit 89 runs for the loss of nine wickets in 20 overs of their innings.

With three wickets to his name in three overs, Uganda’s Alpesh Ramjani was named the man-of-the-match.

After falling to Kenya by eight wickets last Sunday, Botswana lost 27 runs to Rwanda on Tuesday. Botswana have registered just one win in five matches - a 33-run romp over Rwanda last Saturday.

“We just need to be more strict in our power play when bowling. When we are batting, if we can get some runs in the power play, which we have not really done well in this tournament, then it will be a good performance," Angara added.

Kenya’s coach David Obuya said they expect a good match against Botswana.

“Botswana are on the right track, they have been improving since we played them last year and the year before, so we look to just play the game normally. We are looking to give it 100 percent, keep to our basic and game plan, so that we can succeed without any pressure,” said Obuya.

In their second meeting with Rwanda on Wednesday, Kenya won by seven wickets.
It was a low scoring match, with Rwanda, who won the toss and electing to bat first, hitting 92 runs all-out in 20 overs of their innings. Kenya slammed 98 runs for the loss of three wickets in 14 overs of their innings.

Wicket keeper Sukhdeep Sigh was named the man-of-the-match, having top scored with 37 runs from 37 balls with two fours and one six.

Emmanuel Bundi and Vraj Patel were also instrumental in Kenya’s win with three wickets each. Kenya defeated Rwanda by three wickets in the opening match of the tournament last Friday.

After five matches, Kenya and Uganda are joint top with eight points, but the hosts are ranked ahead thanks to a better run rate.

Playing Thursday

Uganda v Rwanda 9:30am

Botswana v Kenya 1:30pm