Patidar Challenge Damani
Looking back at the good times. Damani players celebrate a wicket fall during their successful campaign of 2018. PHOTO BY EDDIE CHICCO
What you need to know:
- Meanwhile, KICC hope to recover from their mistakes made against Damani last weekend when they face SKLPS at the lakeside oval in Entebbe.
- KICC’s Wassim Butt leads the batting charts with 242 runs from 10 innings while captain Hanumant Katkar is interestingly top of the bowlers’ list with 15 scalps, one more than his teammate Lawrence Ssempijja.
KAMPALA. It is pretty unfortunate that clubs in Uganda’s cricket do not last long at the top.
Often, it is a case of money bags dominating and when the wind blows away the sand at the base, it all crumbles at a go.
Tornado and Wanderers will always be referred to for their longevity not until their coffers failed to match the present-day conditions of the game. Premier was there nearly a decade ago, it was Tornado Bee yesterday and Aziz Damani’s lucrative offers today help them dominate with a star-studded side.
Tornado Bee took over from Patidar Samaj’s mini-slump. The latter was boss in 2010 and 2011 and notwithstanding their 2015 T20 Cup success, its cream melted.
Now back to the top tier, Patidar has scored 50 percent after four wins out of eight matches in UCA Divisional Twenty20 League.
With that glass neither half-full or half-empty, Patidar is keen on deflating Damani’s balloon when the two teams meet at Lugogo Oval today.
“We want to make the semi-finals here as we prepare for the 50-Over League,” Patidar’s skipper Ankit Patel told this paper.
His side is fourth with 16 points while Damani is second after winning all six matches to amass 24 points.
“It’s a very big game,” said the man who returned to the club from Kutchi Tigers after it earned promotion.
“Damani has almost the entire national team but we will put 100 percent and give them a good fight,” added Ankit who has so far made 177 runs. Hardik Patel has eight wickets.
But Damani has the country’s crème de la crème and Fred Achelam has raised his bar with 216 runs already in six innings while Henry Ssenyondo has 13 wickets.
“Achelam is on form, Roger Mukasa is our main player and Saud Islam always shows up,” said Damani’s captain Ghulam Hunzai.
“We are going to win softly with God’s grace since we have good players and good combinations,” he added.
Meanwhile, KICC hope to recover from their mistakes made against Damani last weekend when they face SKLPS at the lakeside oval in Entebbe.
KICC’s Wassim Butt leads the batting charts with 242 runs from 10 innings while captain Hanumant Katkar is interestingly top of the bowlers’ list with 15 scalps, one more than his teammate Lawrence Ssempijja.
Go-to man. Damani has the country’s crème de la crème and Fred Achelam has raised his bar with 216 runs already in six innings while Henry Ssenyondo has 13 wickets.
UCA MEN’S DIVISIONAL T20
TODAY’S FIXTURES - 10AM & 3PM
Patidar vs. Aziz Damani, Lugogo
SKLPS vs. KICC, Entebbe
