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The clash of minnows on the second day of cricket world cup bash was a fun to watch. From the two of them, Kenya was supposedly and allegedly the more experienced side, if not the better one. The game on 14th March was won by Kenya solely due to the experience garnered by the more exposure on international front as compared to Canada.  Kenya’s 7 wicket win while 40 balls were still left boosted the kenyan spirits to no end. But having said that, the efforts and passion of Canadian side was remarkable.

Kenyan skipper landed with an aura of confidence and bubbliness on Beausejour Stadium of the marvelous Gros  Islet, St Lucia. This group C match was very crucial for both teams. With the massive quadruple world cup 
experience in his bag, Kenyan skipper Steve Tikolo showed his sparkle in a grand way. He led his team from the front and more importantly from start to end in all the aspects of game. The most commendable thing about him was his intelligent captaincy. He did the rights things at the right time. His choice of spinners in the second power play which doomed the Canadians was a master stroke and the decisive one too.

Canada batted first after losing the toss and went very well up till 102 for 2 outs. But when Steve Tikolo introduced spinners, the maple-leaf boys went bonkers. The hapless and fledgling Canadian batting proved to be house of cards in front of the like of Jimmy Kamande, Hiren Varaiya and Tikolo. They all claimed 5 wickets and gave away only 72 runs. Just one run shy of 200, Canada managed to get a fighting total of 199. IS Billcliff and S Dhaniram both reached to 34 but didnt able to capitalize on it. GEF Barnett displayed some super shots, but  also succumbed to Kenyan’s shrewd bowling. On a beautiful delivery Ongondo made him to give a catch to Mishra.

From the outset, Kenyan batsman took the attack to the lousy and in-disciplined bowling of Canadian strike attack; though opener DO Obuya got himself just after he made 4 runs. RD Shah also struggled and made only 6 on 26 balls. The real crunch came from the two super stars MA Ouma and the talented captain Steve Tikolo. With the aid of 7 fours and 1 sixer, he scored elegant 58 runs on 89 balls with the strike rate of 65.16. The fighter jet Tikolo also followed the same pattern and hit 7 fours and a might six and made the scorers to write 72 as his score. He faced just 76 balls and with in his 118 minutes stay at wicket, his strike rate was majestic 95. T Mishra also washed his hand with Canadian misery and scored bustling 35 runs.

The Canadian bowling was not only wayward but also pathetic. They were very much below par and lost their nerve after a severe whacking by Kenyan batsmen. Only U Bhatti, AC Cummins and S Dhaniram were able to pickup 1 wicket each. This emphatic win by Kenya has added the spice to the tournament.