- Game 3: Uganda v Hong Kong China
- Result: Hong Kong China 170 all out beat Uganda 119 all out by 51 runs
Uganda’s Cricket Cranes suffered their second consecutive defeat in two days, putting their qualification hopes on ice.
Uganda lost to Italy and also dropped to second place, but a win against Hong Kong China would more or less guarantee their passage to the next round.
The toss has been critical in the Dar es Salaam conditions because batting second has proved to be difficult, especially against good bowling attacks. The expression of Riazat Ali Shah at the toss was all that was needed to show how crucial the toss was.
Juma Miyagi was brought into the team in the place of Kenneth Waiswa, which was the only change made by Uganda.
Hong Kong China won the toss and elected to bat first. Anshy Rath (50) held the top together for Hong Kong China even with wickets falling around him. Team contributions throughout the middle pushed the score to the par 150 mark and beyond.
Joseph Baguma (3/38) and Henry Ssenyondo (3/29) were the pick of the bowlers, with the returning Miyagi (2/23) cleaning up the tail.
Uganda started poorly in the run chase with Simon Ssesazi and Raghav Dhawan not troubling the scorers, and the slide never stopped till Riazat Ali Shah (22) and Gerald Olipa (60) came together for a cameo.
Once the skipper departed, the writing was on the wall for Uganda; Joseph Baguma (17) and Olipa got the score over the 100-run mark, but the drinks break cleaned up the final three wickets quickly with the Cricket Cranes falling short by 51 runs.
A resilient innings from the young Gerald Olipa and one he will not forget in a long time. While everyone else struggled, he seemed to be batting on another wicket with some great risk-free cricket that got him to his half-century.
The loss compounds some worry for Uganda because Hong Kong China, who was out of sight before the tournament, is now just two points behind them. They will now need at least a win from their last two games against Singapore and Bahrain to secure second place and advance to the next round.
The rest day will give the team two days to reflect before they take on Singapore on Saturday.
