Game 6: Uganda V UAE
- Uganda 170/7
- UAE 162/9
- Uganda won by 8 runs
The Cricket Cranes gave a very expectant ground something to cheer at the Lakeside Oval with a more confident performance against the favourites, UAE.
The final game of the round robin was a shootout for who would win the second edition of the Pearl of Africa Series.
The UAE had a superior net run rate, and only a win against the hosts would be enough for them to leapfrog Uganda, which had the advantage of having won the first-round game.
Uganda won the toss and took the responsibility of posting a total. The returning Ronald Lutaya (16) set the tone for the run scoring with some aggressive shots in the power play.
Shrideep Mangela and Robinson Obuya didn’t score much, but a big partnership between Alpesh Ramjani (61) and Raghav Dhawani (56) anchored the innings for the home side. Ramjani justified the technical team’s decision to promote him up the order with a well-crafted half-century to help steady the innings.
In the run chase, Mohammad Waseem (25) came out with intent, and only a special catch from Cosmas Kyewuta helped Uganda get rid of him, and that was the sliding door moment for the Cricket Cranes.
The hosts managed to slow down the game with the slow bowlers making sure of the business. UAE lost wickets in regulation, and that derailed their run chase and eventually ran out of time with eight runs still required for victory.
The win gave Uganda the title; they won the series without losing a game, which will give them a lot of confidence ahead of the qualifiers.
The hosts won the two games that were against the highest-ranked opponent managed to defend their totals, with Juma Miyagi and Cosmas Kyewuta showing great death bowling skills. Dinesh Nakrani, who has always been the go-to bowler at the death, was used as an enforcer in the middle overs to make sure there are enough runs for the rest of the bowling at the back end.
There is still work to do at the top of the order. Ronald Lutaya and Robinson Obuya shared the responsibilities at the top, and only Shrideep Mangela kept his slot. Raghav Dhawani has shown his consistency and reliability with the bat, and after a difficult start to his Cricket Cranes career, he is now starting to be comfortable in the black, yellow, and red.
Juma Miyagi took to captaincy like a duck to water, and a successful short stint should make him a candidate for the future. Matthew Musungunzi had a great outing and featured in all the games for the Cricket Cranes, and the experience should help him going forward.
In general, the series has given Head Coach Abhay Sharma a lot of answers rather than questions ahead of the qualifiers in September.
