The Kenya Under 19 cricket side defeated the former African champions Nigeria by 11 runs on Saturday, September 8, 2022 to move one step closer to the upcoming 2024 Cricket World Cup.
Going into the match, hosts Nigeria were the favorites, but the Kenyan teenagers had something else in store for them.
Nigeria had won all their group matches comfortably beating Botswana, Rwanda and Sierra Leone prior to their meeting with Kenya.
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Kenya on the other hand, walloped Malawi and benefited from a walkover over by both Ghana and Mozambique in their group.
Mozambique and Ghana failed to make it to the tournament due to financial-related issues.
In their semifinal encounter against Sierra Leone, the Josphat Irungu coached-side overcame Sierra Leone by 81 runs.
Kenyan skipper Vishil Patel played a crucial role for the East African nation, bagging three-wicket haul in the final.
Patel had also clinched the man of the match award in their clash against Sierra Leone registering 6 wickets and making an impressive 12 runs.
Despite being humiliated at home, the trio of Nigeria, Kenya, and Malawi qualified for the final round of the qualifiers to be staged in 2023.
The three teams will now battle it out with Uganda, Namibia, and Tanzania in the final qualifying round.
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