An improved batting display by Bermuda yesterday was not enough to prevent Kenya taking a comfortable 7 wicket win in the match and an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. Having won the toss, Bermuda opted to bat and were rewarded with a significantly better performance from their batsmen who put on 185 for the loss of 8 wickets. Thomas Odoyo the main destroyer with 4/25, enough to earn him the Perto Oil man of the match award. Hiren Varaiya was again impressive, taking two wickets in his first over and Nehemiah Odhiambo also chipped in with two towards the end of the visitor’s innings.

With the match reduced to 42 overs each due to overnight rain, Kenya needed almost the exact same run rate they had achieved the day before. Openers Ouma and Obuya set about the chase in aggressive fashion. both scoring at over a run a ball. Bermuda’s most successful bowler so far this tour, Saleem Mukaddem however was again on form and had Ouma trapped lbw for 18 with the score on 33. It was a marked improvement from the opener after his duck in the first innings and should give him a boost in confidence ahead of the final match of the series on Tuesday. Mukaddem struck again four overs later, this time removing Obuya, again lbw, for 27. At 2/50, Kenya were still well ahead of the required run rate, but in danger of suffering another collapse in the middle order. Tony Suji and Steve Tikolo took Kenya to 83 before Suji fell to Dwayne Leverock for 11. Scoring at a strike rate of only 29%, his second failure in as many matches should open the door for Malhar Patel, especially as he was only bowled for one over and that at a cost of 15 runs.

Tanmay Mishra then joined the captain at the crease and the two steadily set about dismantling the total. Both batsmen displayed maturity and patience and while they remained in the middle, the result never looked in doubt. Tikolo just won the race to reach the half century, but it was Mishra who finished the top scorer with 64 to the skipper’s 60. A fantastic effort by the teenager and a well deserved first half century in ODIs. In the end, Kenya finished with 7 wickets and 25 balls to spare. One feels that had it been needed, there was still another gear available to the hosts.

Yesterday’s win gives Kenya their first ever series win on home soil and it is doubly satisfying that it was brought about by a combination of the experienced and young players in the team. Steve Tikolo is acknowledged as one of the true greats in the sport outside Test cricket and is responsible for many of Kenya’s triumphs in the past. Odoyo, while as experienced as Tikolo in ODIs, is several years younger and provides the bridge between the age and youth in the side. Then you have the trio of youngsters who did so well: Mishra, Varaiya and Odhiambo who represent the long term future of Kenyan cricket. There has been much speculation as to what will happen to Kenya when Tikolo’s generation retire but the way things are going at the moment for the newer members of the team, things do not look too bad at all. It is also not likely to happen too soon, and in the meantime, the weekend’s results might cause a few sleepless nights for some of Kenya’s Associate rivals.

Bermuda have a day’s rest to rally and regroup before the final match of the series on Tuesday. They improved yesterday and will need to do so again in order to take some good from the series. For Kenya, the 2-0 lead gives an opportunity to bring in some of the fringe players in the side. Tikolo, Odoyo, Ongondo, Varaiya, Mishra, Odhiambo, Ouma and the Obuya brothers, Collins and David, are all fairly certain to feature for Kenya in the World Cup. Regards the likely starting 11, there are still the two slots that have a question mark hanging over them and tomorrow is the perfect opportunity to experiment with these. Kamande bowled well in the first game, but was not given a real opportunity yesterday. Either he needs to be allowed to prove himself, and he certainly has the capability to do so, or someone else needs a shot. Tony Suji has had two poor innings this series and has hardly set the World alight with his bowling either. Kenya desperately need someone to fill the number 3 position and it is only fair that one of the other batsmen be given their chance.