Match 3: Uganda v Rwanda
Match Summary:
Uganda 168/9
Rwanda 35/9
Uganda won by 133 runs
Match 4: Uganda v Tanzania
Uganda 169/9
Tanzania 156/9
Uganda won by 13 runs
The highlight from the action today at the Gahanga was the half century scored by Roger Mukasa for the Cricket Cranes in the afternoon.
89 from 62 balls, a knock that included 13 fours and two maximums was a delight to watch from a player that has been desperate for a big knock.
He was out for zero in the 1st game he played, he was rested for the morning game against Rwanda but when he got off the mark with a boundary in the afternoon everyone was hoping that he makes it count.
The absolute team man Roger Mukasa had fallen out of favor and a quick return into the side for the Global T20 Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in July never helped his cause.
After a lot of hard work in the practice games, the old Roger Mukasa is finding his form and this afternoon he showed glimpses of his quality.
He missed aggression, wit, and assured running between the wickets to bring his half-century, he could have gotten a century after reaching his fifty with over nine overs left in the match but he put the team’s needs before his own personal glory.
He fell in the final over of the innings but his anchoring helped Uganda get to 169/9 after he batted with nearly everyone.
Tanzania pushed Uganda in the afternoon encounter especially after Ivan Suleiman decided to take on the quick bowlers Cosmas Kyewuta and Juma Miyagi.
If they had been contributions from the Tanzania middle order there wouldn’t have been a lot of work to do for the tail.
However, the tail-enders even with 49 required from 18 balls took matters into their hands, in the end, running out of resources with 13 runs still required.
The 1st proper test for the Cricket Cranes in the 3 nation series and a sign that there is a lot more in stock from where that came from.
In the morning game, Uganda crawled to 168/9 in their 20 overs, with no real stand-out contributions with the bat apart from Simon Ssesazi (35) and Pascal Murungi (22) plus a late cameo from Bilal Hassun (20) got them to a good total.
Hassun (3/4) was the destroyer in chief as Rwanda was cleaned up for just 35 to complete a routine win for the Cricket Cranes.
There is little time to rest as the men in yellow will be back in action tomorrow morning against Rwanda.