NAIROBI, 25 February 2003 — Little-known spinner Collins Obuya took five wickets as Kenya pulled off one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history here yesterday when they beat 1996 champions Sri Lanka by 53 runs.
The dramatic triumph at the Nairobi Gymkhana was set up by Obuya who ripped the heart out of the Sri Lankan batting lineup, finishing with figures of 5-24 off 10 overs, the ninth best bowling performance in the history of the event as Sri Lanka were dismissed for 157 off 45 overs.
Obuya’s figures even managed to overshadow the better known spinning talents of Muttiah Muralitharan who earlier grabbed 4-28 as the Kenyans were limited to 210-9 off their 50 overs.
“We will think about the rest of the tournament after the celebrations,” said Kenyan skipper Steve Tikolo.
“It was a fantastic win. I felt we were 30-40 runs short but the bowlers brought us back in the game backed by some excellent fielding.
“Now we have two games to go, against Bangladesh and West Indies, and we won’t be taking them lightly. We want to qualify for the Super Sixes.”
The win also brought back memories of Kenya’s famous 73-run win over the West Indies at the 1996 World Cup in Pune and propelled them to the top of Group B with 12 points. Six survivors from that game — Tikolo, Maurice Odumbe, Kennedy Otieno, Thomas Odoyo, Martin Suji and Hitesh Modi — were in the Kenyan side again yesterday.
Chasing a modest target of 211 to win, Sri Lanka were limping along at 112-5 when the 21-year-old Obuya turned the tide by having dangerman Aravinda de Silva caught by Kennedy Otieno after the veteran batsman had made 41 off 53 balls.
“I am so happy,” said Obuya. “Now I just want to become the best spinner in — Kenya!” As well as dismissing Hashan Tillakaratne and Kumar Sangakkara, Obuya also took two spectacular catches off his own bowling to get rid of Mahela Jayawardene and Chaminda Vaas, the second of which sent him off on an impromptu lap of honor around the ground as his team sensed a famous win. Maurice Odumbe secured the win by bowling Dilhara Fernando.
Sri Lanka skipper Sanath Jayasuriya, whose team had gone into the match with three wins out of three, was left despondent. “This was one of the worst matches of my life. I am very disappointed,” confessed the captain who made just three before he fell to Suji. “Their score of 210 was very gettable, but we played like amateurs, not professionals which we are supposed to be. We have to forget this as quickly as possible and get on playing good cricket. This was very bad cricket by all of us.”
Earlier, Muttiah Muralitharan grabbed 4-28 as Sri Lanka kept Kenya down to 210-9 from 50 overs. Chaminda Vaas chipped in with 3-41 to become the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 12 after Lankan skipper Jayasuriya won the toss and elected to field. Opener Kennedy Otieno was the only Kenyan batsman to make an impact, scoring 60.
Veteran Maurice Odumbe took 3-15 when Kenya upset the West Indies at Pune in 1996, but this time it was Obuya who struck the telling blows on Sri Lanka who were cruising along nicely at 71-2 at one stage despite losing in form openers Sanath Jayasuriya and Marvan Atapattu.
