ICC T20 World Cup Africa Finals: Cricket Cranes back into contention

Simon Ssesazi, Ronak Patel and Riazat Ali Shah were the stand out performers as Uganda rallied back into contention for honours at the International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Twenty20 World Cup Africa Qualifier (Africa Finals) yesterday.
After a lackluster opening day during which they lost to the ‘noisy neighbours’ Kenya by one run and then edged past Nigeria by 12 runs – thanks in no small part to the Duckworth, Lewis & Stern (DLS) Method, the Cricket Cranes showed their true brand of cricket with two identical 8-wicket victories against Tanzania and Nigeria in the morning and afternoon respectively.

Both Ssesazi (52) and Patel (68*) stroked beautiful half-centuries as Uganda crossed the finish line in 18.2 overs while chasing down previously unbeaten Tanzania’s 140 at the beautiful Gahanga Stadium to complement Bilal Hassun’s spell of 3 for 22.
One -man show
Then in the afternoon, Riazat Ali Shah’s all-round show was the difference with a spell of 4 wickets for 12 runs in 3 overs that put the brakes on Nigeria’s innings every time they tried to accelerate.
Shah wasn’t only the factor as Nigeria set only 112 runs for the loss of 9 wickets, he ensured Uganda win comfortably with an unbeaten run-a-ball 23 that comprised of one boundary and one meaty six.

Openers Saud Islam (16 off 23), Ssesazi (25 off 18) and the star of the game in the morning – Patel – with another unbeaten innings of 35 runs did chip in as well.
“After the below par show on Day One, we went back and reflected on our processes and what we need to do both as an individual and as a team. That’s what inspired us and it was the driving factor for our renaissance. We want to continue kicking on,” captain Brian Masaba reflected.
The reward for Team Uganda’s good show will be an ice-bath on today’s rest day before the final round of games tomorrow.

YESTERDAY’S RESULTS

Tanzania     140/8     Uganda     141/2
Uganda won by 8 wickets 
Nigeria     112/9     Uganda     114/2
Uganda won by 8 wickets 
Fixtures - Tomorrow
Tanzania    vs.    Uganda     - 10.15am
Kenya    vs.    Nigeria     - 10.15am 
Kenya    vs.    Uganda     - 2.45pm 
Nigeria    vs.   Tanzania     - 2.45pm 
Table Standings – Match Day 2
TEAM    M          W       L     Pts        NRR
Kenya    4            3       1        6       0.921
Uganda    4            3       1        6       0.775
Tanzania    4            2       2       4       0.432
Nigeria    4            0       4       0       -2.316
*NRR denotes Net Run Rate

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