Victoria Series Finals
- RESULT: Uganda 94/8 beat Rwanda 75/9 won by 19 runs
Uganda’s Victoria Pearls managed to defend their Victoria Series title after an impressive performance against neighbours Rwanda in the final.
Rwanda had defeated Uganda in the second round of the series, and they had the momentum coming into the final on the back of three wins in a row. The hosts, Uganda, had the task of not failing in front of a passionate home support but also making sure there was no dejavu against the same opponent.
Uganda won the toss and elected to bat. Uganda has made only one change throughout the whole tournament, with Sarah Akiteng and Naomi Amongin not featuring in any of the games throughout the series.
Uganda lost its captain, Janet Mbabazi, early, but a 45-run partnership between Proscovia Alako (25) and Stephanie Nampiina (27) steadied the ship and laid a platform for a big total.
However, a middle-order collapse changed the game and helped Rwanda get back in the fight and, in the end, never allowed Uganda to get to the three magic numbers, with the Victoria Pearls finishing on 94/8 in their allotted 20 overs.
In the run chase, Rwanda was slow but steady, but Uganda had only gotten this far due to some disciplined bowling, and the bowlers just kept it tidy, especially after the power play.
Asumin Akurut (3/11) was mean in her spell, and she was complemented by the captain, Janet Mbabazi (2/13), with the rest of the supporting cast making it so difficult for Rwanda to find boundaries. Rwanda only managed three boundaries in the run chase, which completely derailed their run chase.
The Victoria Pearls concluded the tournament as winners with a report card of five wins out of the seven games.
Rwanda might have lost the battle, but they certainly won the war with four wins out of their seven games despite coming into the tournament as the lowest-ranked side.
USA also managed to pick up their second win of the series after defeating Namibia in the 3rd/4th play-off final.
Sainav Kambalapali (USA) won the MVP award, while Stephanie Nampiina (Uganda) won the best batter award and Diane Bimenyimana (Rwanda) won the Best Bowler award.
