Many observers mocked Kenya for picking 42 year old Steve Tikolo for this tournament, but he proved his detractors wrong today after a top bowling performance that was the decisive blow in Kenya's thrashing of Scotland at the ICC Cricket Academy in Dubai.

Batting first after winning the toss, Kenya initially set off quickly, scoring at around 10 runs an over, before three quick wickets in the eighth and ninth over set their run rate back. They rebuilt for a few overs, before Collins Obuya and Rageb Aga began increasing the scoring rate.

Former Warwickshire player Obuya and former Sussex player Aga put on 53 for the seventh wicket before Obuya fell in the final over having scored 36. The real onslaught had come from Aga, who finished the innings unbeaten on 52 from just 25 balls out of a total of 183-7.

Kenya though had failed to defend similar totals against Papua New Guinea and Nepal earlier in the tournament, so Scotland would have started their chase with some confidence.

Scoring quickly at first, they were also losing wickets, finding themselves on 84-4 at the halfway stage of their innings. Four runs and a wicket came from the eleventh over, at which point Tikolo came on to bowl.

Three wickets in four balls in his first over put the result beyond any doubt, and the match was over from his next over when he took the final wicket. In eight balls he went for two runs and took four wickets, a superb display from a spinner in Twenty20, and the cheapest four wicket haul in full Twenty20 Internationals.

The result had an impact away from the tournament, as it now means Zimbabwe lie firmly at the foot of the ICC's Twenty20 International rankings, behind the five associates sides currently on the table. Zimbabwe of course, continue to get automatic entry into World Cups.

Both teams have a day off tomorrow and will resume play on Thursday when Scotland play Papua New Guinea and Kenya play Bermuda.