Continent Cup T20: Naughty Uganda squeak past Kenya in final's curtain raiser

Built up as 'a final before the final' the third matchup between Kenya and neighboring Uganda offered a different look from the past two meetings, the latter ultimately having the last laugh once again, and in a nervy 5 wickets victory on Day 8 of the Continent Cup T20 Africa Tournament staged at the Nairobi Gymkhana Grounds in Nairobi, Kenya.

As the case on Saturday, it was largely expected that the best bowling unit won, given the fact that both teams were dealing with a slow pitch - one that had borne the scars of a total of 15 matches played beforehand. 

It was therefore not a surprise as skipper Rakep Patel opted to bat after winning the toss, summoning the services of openers Collins Obuya and Rushab Patel, both of whom couldn't handle the spins from Riazat Ali Shah and Dinesh Nakrani, only combining for a total 21 runs from 3.4 overs.

With third man Sukhdeep Singh struggling to find his footing, it was from Nelson Odhiambo's hand that Kenya found some reprieve, the Kanbis man strolling on to his maiden half-century in the tournament.

"It was a bit tough in the beginning but as you face more balls, you grow in confidence and make a run," Odhiambo said post-game. "At the end, I thought staying on would have given us an extra 20 runs."

Only that it was not to be, as his dismissal on the last ball of the penultimate over, meant that Kenya labored on to score four runs, hitting 117 with the second innings to follow.

The script worked almost immediately for the hosts as Vraj Patel and Gerrard Mwendwa caused early trouble, gathering three wickets inside the third over.

But that was that.

Opener Simon Ssesazi was on a rampage from the get-go, and indeed coasted through the entire game, nicking his 10th career half-century with a 56-run performance- one that saw him delight with the man of the match award after the game.

"I am delighted with the performance today," Ssesazi said when asked what the win and award meant to him. "Playing a game to its entirety isn't an easy task but I managed to weather the storm."

At the end, Kenya was looking at figures resembling: 37 runs from 48 balls at the end of a grueling over marshaled by Mwendwa.

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It was not to be for the home boys when Ssesazi's ball off a Ngoche delivery pinged for four, the intent clear from the highest ranked nation in the tournament.

"I see a motivated group that knows and is prepared to win," Ssesazi said of the Ugandan side that will on Monday finish off their Round-robin business against Rwanda at 1330 EAT..

Kenya's last group fixture will be against Botswana in the early kickoff match-up at 0930 EAT, paving way for another clash of the two East African giants on Wednesday in the finals.