West Indies 261 for 6 (Lara 111) beat Kenya 232 (Tikolo 93, Collins 3-18) by 29 runs
Scorecard

Ultimately, Steve Tikolo's individual heroics were not quite enough to prevent Kenya from losing by 29 runs. He was like a lead actor on stage without the supporting cast: his 93 in 91 balls, his first half-century in his last ten ODI innings, went without reward. He had battled on, as the sun dipped and the run rate climbed, twice exhibiting those patented flashes of African magic, the scoops over fine leg which Doug Marillier has perfected. Tikolo gave the day its brightest phase in a match highlighted by Brian Lara's 15th hundred, dropped catches and umpiring blunders.

The die was cast before Tikolo left the stage in the 46th over, bowled by Merv Dillon when his desperate shot tried to answer an asking rate of more than 12. Kenya paid the price for flooring five easy catches during the West Indian innings, including Lara at 40. It ensured that they chased 261, instead of a target nearer 230. In the chase, Kenya lost their last four wickets for 13, mostly undone by a fine bowling effort by Pedro Collins, who returned figures of 3 for 18 off 9.1 overs, the best of his ODI career.

Collins and Dillon (2 for 46) helped West Indies cruise home to a victory that did not seem so easy earlier during a typically humid, hot, energy-sapping day in Colombo. Ravindu Shah (27) and Brijal Patel (35) sparked some hopes of Kenya reaching home, but two fighting partnerships produced too little for the task at hand. Fifty runs each for the second and third wickets were the highest stands of the Kenyan innings. But West Indies were always at their throats, particularly after Carl Hooper reintroduced Collins and Dillon to finish the game.

Kenya's morning effort was an ironic story, as what was touted as their biggest strength let them down. Lara benefited most from their comical fumbling in the field. Lara, who came into the match with an upset stomach, left it with acute dehydration and his 15th one-day hundred. By the time he was hospitalised with suspected hepatitis, West Indies had blasted 59 runs off the last 30 balls of the innings. Ramnaresh Sarwan (20 off 21 balls) and Wavell Hinds (20 off 7) built rapidly on the foundation Lara had struggled to construct.

Maurice Odumbe bowled well to give Kenya hope of a reachable target. His ten overs, which he bowled on the trot, cost him only 21 runs. Hooper (20 off 39), coming in at 115 for 2, changed the pattern of the innings after Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul struggled to keep the scorers awake during a second-wicket stand of 55 in 17.5 overs.

West Indies would have been in worse shape had Lara, when 32, been given out caught behind off Collins Obuya. Asoka de Silva, the third umpire, did not agree with TV replays that showed the ball go straight off his bat-face into the gloves of David Obuya.

It was the costliest of at least three umpiring blunders, two of them by Venkat, who refused to seek the third umpire's input for lbws. Kenya suffered both times – Chanderpaul not given out when plumb in front inside the first five overs, while Odumbe was given out when the ball would clearly have passed over the stumps. In the final reckoning, those decisions might have made all the difference for an inexperienced team struggling to establish itself in international cricket.

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