Emerging Nations Cup | Uganda W v PNG W
- Uganda 117/4
- PNG 113/7
- Uganda won by 4 runs
Janet Mbabazi led from the front with both bat and ball to give Uganda’s Victoria Pearls their first win at the Emerging Nations Cup in Thailand.
Uganda named an unchanged team for their third game and with a break in routine, they won the toss and elected to bat first.
Esther Iloku didn’t last long but a 49-run partnership between Mbabazi and Immaculate Nakisuyi (20) repaired the innings and set a good platform for Uganda to launch an attack.
While wickets were falling around her, Mbabazi brought up her second T20i half-century and she remained unbeaten till the end on 60.
Photo by: Pankaj Nangia / CREIMAS
Uganda was guilty of slowing down at the back end when they were in a great position at the 15th Over. If they had maintained the scoring rate from the first 10 Overs, they would have scored more than 117 in their 20 Overs.
In the run chase, Uganda was strong in the first 10 Overs, restricting PNG to only 51/2 after 11 Overs but a change in approach turned the game in favour of PNG. They got two big Overs, 16 runs taken off Consy Aweko’s third Over and 14 runs off Malisa Ariokot’s 3rd Over, making the encounter even.
With 25 runs needed off 24 balls, the game was starting to slip away from the Ugandans but some tidy bowling from Kevin Amuge and Malisa Ariokot made things difficult for PNG.
Photo by: Pankaj Nangia / CREIMAS
PNG lost crucial wickets in that passage of play and with 13 runs required off the final six balls, it was down to the captain Mbabazi, and despite conceding a boundary in that over, she managed to hold her nerve and clinch the match for her team.
Uganda nearly gave away a game that they dominated after putting themselves in a pressure situation with some untidy bowling and poor fielding, giving PNG a look in. The performance was not the greatest but the result will surely give Uganda some momentum going forward. Something had to give for a side that threw away two games they could have won.
Uganda picked up their first win of the tournament against a higher-ranked team, which gives the team confidence going forward but also earns them some precious ranking points.
Uganda is yet to play the UAE, Tanzania, the Netherlands and Thailand.
