Group B Results: 50 Over League – Bronze Division
- Pak Shaheens 194/6 beat Chennai 193 all out by 4 wickets
- Pak Shaheens 76/2 beat Centurion 75/9 by 8 wickets
- Pak Shaheens v ACC – Abandoned due to weather
- Pak Shaheens 154/5 beat Kifaru 148 all out by 5 wickets
Pak Shaheens finished top of Group B in the Bronze Division of the 50 Over National Cricket League.
In the six-team Group B, they faced some stiff competition from Kifaru and Chennai CC, the most experienced sides in the Group. The other sides were relatively newcomers who wouldn’t push for the top two knock-out places.
The nature of the league format was that two sides of each group move to the knockouts, but only those that gain promotion to the silver division.
At the end of group games, Centurion and Tornado rose to the top in Group A, while Pak Shaheens and Kifaru finished in first and second place, respectively, in Group B.
Pak Shaheens managed to win their big tests against Chennai and Kifaru, which also double as local derbies because of the India vs Pakistan rivalry, considering that Pak Shaheens has a strong connection to the Pakistan Community in Uganda.
The abandoned game with ACC that followed nearly denied them second place, but an easy win against Centurion A in their final Group B game secured top spot.
Pak Shaheens is stacked with a lot of talent and will be the favourites against Tornado in the playoffs, but both sides have experience in their teams to get the result.
Pak Shaheens will be counting on captain Raheel Sarwar, youngster Robert Owili and seasoned campaigners such as Wasim Butt and Basit Habib. Tornado, on the other hand, will be counting on the timeless Lawrence Ssematimba and Lawrence Ssempijja, who have a full battery of youth energy.
Pak Shaheens will need to be clinical in the one-off semifinal game because a bad day at the office could consign them to another year in the bottom league. However, if they get through the semifinal, they will be on the brink of winning the Division. In the other semifinal, Centurion will face off with Kifaru.
