Malawi Men’s National Cricket Team continues to excel on the international scene, securing a second-place finish at the Quadrangular T20 Series in Nairobi, Kenya, on Wednesday.
Kenya clinched the top position after leading in the final against Malawi. The final was disrupted by heavy rains.
The hosts emerged victorious after accumulating more points than Malawi in a competition that also featured teams from Zambia and Rwanda.
The series, which began on June 28, concluded on Wednesday in the Kenyan capital.
The teams competed in a round-robin league format, with each team playing against the others thrice, and the top two teams qualifying for the final.
Malawi started their campaign with a decisive victory over Rwanda but suffered a surprising loss to Zambia.
Kenya dominated all their group fixtures, leaving Malawi to recover from three consecutive defeats.
The youngest team in the competition, Malawi rallied with a determined performance against Zambia to secure their second win.
Kenya once again proved too strong for Malawi, who, with two wins and four losses from six matches, initially seemed likely to miss out on the final.
However, Malawi bounced back impressively, defeating Zambia in a hard-fought encounter and then dominating Rwanda in their eighth match.
This performance placed Malawi second in the standings with eight points from four wins and four losses.
In their final group fixture against Kenya, heavy rain forced the match to be abandoned, with the hosts finishing unbeaten on 17 points and Malawi securing the second spot with nine points.
According to Cricket Malawi Head of Cricket Operations Arjun Menon, Sami Sohail of Malawi was named Player of the Series after amassing 377 runs.
“He was also nominated for the Man of the Match award in four matches,” Menon said.
He praised Malawi’s performance at the tournament, highlighting Donnex Kamsonkho’s leadership in place of captain Moazzam Ali Baig, who was unable to tour due to work commitments.
“The team included five players under the age of 20, with two being 16-year-olds, making us the youngest team in the tournament. Our most notable achievement was rallying to achieve a second-place finish after a difficult start,” Menon said.
Malawi National Council of Sports Public Relations and Communications Officer Edgar Ntulumbwa commended the team for winning silver medals.
“The team has shown steady progress, which is what we expect from all our associations,” Ntulumbwa said.
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