Ugandan sides back in Quadrangular title hunt

KAMPALA. It is back to square one. The two Ugandan sides heeded their coaches’ call and picked up vital wins against Kenya XI and Takashinga XI to bounce back into contention for the ongoing Quadrangular Series title.
Left-hander Shahzad Kamal (62 off 101) and all-rounder Deus Muhumuza (23 of 86) were the heroes with a match-defining sixth-wicket stand of 66 after they came together with Uganda in a precarious situation at 44 for 5.

But after the pair fell in quick succession to leave Uganda reeling on 132 for 7, No.10 batsman Charles Waiswa took matters into his own hands to bludgeon an unbeaten winning cameo of 20 off 13 that was littered with three boundaries to ensure Uganda crossed the line in 47 overs.
The jittery moments in the middle and out in the stands of Uganda fans biting off their finger nails were all over when towering bowler Blessing Muzarabani (0/20 in 5 ) asked to bowl the 48th over with Uganda needing three runs to win, delivered a no-ball that was converted into an extra pair to gift Uganda a hard-earned one-wicket win with 18 balls to spare.
“I now shift goal posts,” said Uganda XI coach Steve Tikolo said when asked whether he is happy with brigade’s display.
“Instead, I will now be happy if we win the tournament. But hats off Shahzad and Muhumuza, they showed desire and played with purpose. He (Shahzad) played well but should have taken us home. We now need to win our remaining two games comfortably.”
The table has both Takashinga and Uganda XI tied on 15 points with three wins from four games apiece and whichever side avoids another defeat and finishes with a better Net Run Rate (NRR) in its last two fixtures will take home the title on Saturday.
Takashinga coach Eric Chauluka was defiant in defeat and blamed his batsmen’s consistent no-show for their only defeat in the series thus far.
“A lot of things didn’t go our way,” said Chauluka. “Again our batsmen didn’t produce the goods. But cricket is a good game. We came to win and now we are being taught how to do so. The Ugandans had a big desire to win and it paid off. In sport, you win some and lose some.”
Davis Karashani and his men must now avoid a backlash when they square off with Brian Masaba’s Uganda Select XI at Kyambogo today. Masaba and his men brought Kenya down on its knees with an authoritative seven-wicket triumph. Masaba and Emmanuel Isaneez shared three wickets apiece as Kenya folded for 90 and Arnold Otwani proceeded to make hay with a solid unbeaten 24-ball 32 as Uganda Select reached home in 16.5 overs in a match that ended before lunch.
At Lugogo Oval, Takasahinga will be looking to make a strong response when they entertain Jimmy Kamande’s Kenya XI that is winless thus far.

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