- Uganda 196/7
- Nigeria 130/7
- Uganda won by 66 runs
Uganda’s Cricket Cranes secured some consolation by winning the 5th-place playoff final against West African side Nigeria in a dominant 66-run victory.
The placement game was the final game of the tournament for the Cricket Cranes to conclude what has been a disappointing World Cup Qualifying campaign.
Uganda won the toss and elected to bat first. The team made some changes, with Juma Miyagi and Gaurav Tomer coming into the side for Robinson Obuya and Innocent Mwebaze.
Ronald Lutaaya and Raghav Dhawan fell early, but Gaurav Tomer (33), Verma Sumeet led the rebuild but it was a captain’s knock from Riazat Ali Shah (66 not out) that laid the platform for the team to finish 196/7 in 20 overs.
In the run chase, Nigeria threw a few punches in the first two overs but once the first wicket fell, Uganda took charge of the defense of their total, with Henry Ssenyondo (3/12) and Alpesh Ramjani (2/17) the pick of the bowlers.
Nigeria could only manage to finish on 130/7 in their 20 overs to give Uganda a 66-run win.
Uganda was able to finish in 5th place but not enough to prevent them from a return to the regional qualifiers for the 2028 T20 World Cup. It was a disappointing campaign for the Cricket Cranes who need to reflect on the tournament to find answers that will take them forward.
The additions to the team Gaurav Tomer and Sumeet Verma had contrasts in performance. Sumeet showed his class and potential as a proper top-order batter but Gaurav Tomer failed to impress with either bat and gloves and sat out two games, including the important game against Zimbabwe.
Raghav Dhawan was solid at the top but the same couldn’t be said of his partners. Ronald Lutaaya and Robinson Obuya fell too often for single-digit scores but they have the quality. Cyrus Kakuru was a class act with the gloves but it’s only runs that will keep him in the side and complement his brilliant glove work.
Uganda, usually the disciplined team with the ball, were not tidy on wickets that had true bounce. Henry Ssenyondo was bowled late and therefore struggled to make an impact on games while the young Joseph Baguma is still learning and needs time to swim with sharks. Dinesh Nakrani sometimes had control but got little support from others. Juma Miyagi and Cosmas Kyewuta struggled to be consistent and against quality batters, they were put under the pump in the power play. Frank Nsubuga doesn’t have the variations to be reliable at this level and Alpesh Ramjani leaked many runs compared to his usual standards.
Ultimately in a disappointing campaign, it’s easy to point fingers but its important that the collective effort is where the team draws the line to go forward a unit. Some hard choices and difficult conversations will need to be made by Uganda for them to go back to being one of the best teams in Africa, even if they are just a touch below Namibia and Zimbabwe.
