Kolkata, March 20:Zimbabwe finished their 2011 ICC World Cup campaign on a winning note trouncing Kenya by a whopping 161 runs in the final match played in Group A. This was Zimbabwe’s second win of the tournament - the African side had beaten Canada in an earlier group encounter.
Zimbabwecaptain Elton Chigumbura won the toss and elected to bat first. That decision appeared to backfire initially when Zimbabwe lost both openers, Brendan Taylor (26) and Regis Chakabva (9), before the tenth over had been completed. But a 110-run partnership between Vusi Sibanda (61) and Tatenda Taibu (53) not only helped Zimbabwe recover but also laid the platform for a big total.
And Zimbabwe got that flourish at the end of their innings with a 105-run partnership between Craig Ervine and Elton Chigumbura that came off just 14.2 overs (run-rate 7.32). Ervine was the more destructive of the two as he blitzed his way to a score of 66 off just 54 deliveries. Chigumbura scored 38 off 41. Zimbabwe finished their 50 overs with the score at 308 for six.
If Kenya were going to get past that score, they required a big innings from their stand-in captain Steve Tikolo, who also happened to be playing his last ODI game. However, not only Tikolo (10) but all the other Kenyan batsmen too failed to rise to the challenge. The side collapsed with the scoreboard reading a paltry 147 runs. Nehemiah Odhiambo, batting at No. 8, played a lone, battling innings of 47 not out.
Even though Zimbabwe won this game, there was no opportunity for them to qualify for the quarterfinals. Kenya, who haven’t won a single game at the 2011 ICC World Cup, were also out of contention for a quarterfinal berth before this game.
Brief scores:Zimbabwe 308 for 6 in 50.0 overs (Craig Ervine 66, Vusi Sibanda 61, Tatenda Taibu 53, Elijah Otieno 2/61) beat Kenya 147 all out in 36.0 overs (Nehemiah Odhiambo 44*, Ray Price 2/20, Greg Lamb 2/21, Graeme Cramer 2/28) by 161 runs
Man-of-the-Match:Craig Ervine for his blustery 54-ball 66 (9x4, 1x6) that set Zimbabwe up for their massive total of 308 runs
