Jinja SS dedicate Mehta Twenty20 title to Mugalula

What you need to know:

Jinja Secondary School’s five-wicket win ensured their first title in national competitions since Habibu Mugalula took over as the school’s cricket coach in 2012

Habibu Mugalula was a militaristic cricketer in his hey-day. Always steaming in from 30 yards with the new ball and an even more eye-catching sight with the bat as he scampered for quick tight singles.
It is the same attitude with which Mugalula played that he initiated when he started a new career as cricket coach in 2012 at Jinja Secondary School.

His students had to learn fast, and they did. There was no two ways! But over the past one-month (37 days to be exact), things have been slow in the 34-year-old’s life.
A hit and run accident left him crippled on September 10 in Jinja. The soft-spoken tactician’s pelvic girdle was broken and he underwent an operation to have a plate inserted to hold his pelvic bones together.
But Mugalula threw away the clutches for the first time and regained his mojo, albeit temporarily last Sunday, when Jinja SS girls pulled off a heist to win the Mehta National Twenty20 League.
The bubbly teenagers defeated favourites Charity by five wickets in a low-scoring semifinal at Kyambogo Oval before toppling Wanderers by the same margin in a nail-biting final at Lugogo.

“We played well today and we dedicate this victory to our coach [Mugalula],” Jinja SS captain of the day Rachael Ntono was quick to say soon after the over-the-top celebrations.
“We didn’t play well when he was away and we were hungry to win it for him as a welcome back gift. We are very excited and there will be a big party at school.” Mugalula, who was bed-ridden for a week in Mulago Hospital after being transferred from Jinja Hospital, also credited the girls for possessing big-match temperaments and playing with pure passion.
“Their love for the game is incomparable and they know how to execute game plans.
“That’s what happens when they listen,” said Mugalula, who is coincidentally an alumnus of Jinja SS.
The youthful coach nicknamed Mugi spared a vote of thanks for Jinja SS head teacher Dinah Hope Tuhumwire Nyago, Uganda Cricket Association, fellow teachers Samuel Musiho and Yusuf Nanga, student Aloysius Odoi and his wife Faith Neema, who have spent both their time and money to ensure he gets back on the road running as before like a well-oiled machine.

MEHTA NATIONAL TWENTY20 W0MEN’S CRICKET LEAGUE

FINAL
Wanderers 85/5 Jinja SS 86/5
(Jinja SS won by 5 wickets)
SEMIFINALS
Charity TF 49/8 Jinja SS 54/5
Wanderers 75/5 Tornado 63/9
ROLL OF HONOUR
Player of Series: Damalie Busingye (Jinja SS) – 154 runs & 7 wickets
Best Batter: Naome Kayondo (Wanderers) – 127 runs in 5 innings
Best Bowler: Joselyn Nakato (Charity TF) – 9 wickets
Best Fielder: Franklyn Najjumba (Tornado) – 4 dismissals
Best Wicketkeeper: Patricia Munguryek (Charity TF) – 7 dismissals