Scotland 145 for 2 (MacLeod 56*, Coetzer 52) beat Kenya 146 (Obuya 26, Sharif 3-33, Sole 2-20)
Scorecard
Scotland claimed a place in the World Cup qualifier in March 2018 with an eight-wicket victory over Kenya in Dubai. Put in to bat, Kenya were bowled out for 146 and watched their opponents bash through to the target with 132 balls to spare.
Fast bowler Safyaan Sharif vindicated Scotland’s decision to field at the toss by picking up a wicket in the very first over. Opener Rushab Patel was the first of the procession as four of the top six batsmen were kept to single digits. Collins Obuya, the 36-year old who was part of the 2003 squad that made the World Cup semi-final, top-scored with 26 as Kenya lurched from 31 for 2 in the 10th over to 95 for 6 in the 32nd. The tail did its best to play out the full quota of overs, but they couldn’t handle Sharif (3 for 33) and Chris Sole (2 for 20) when they came back in the death overs. Left-arm spinner Mark Watt had a fine day as well, finishing with figures of 10-2-17-1.
Half-centuries from captain Kyle Coetzer (52) and Calum MacLeod (56*) put the finishing touches on a game Scotland dominated from start to finish.
As a result of their dismal performance, Kenya need to beat Scotland on Friday, and hope Hong Kong lose on Wednesday and Friday to secure a place in the World Cup Qualifier.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo