Victoria Pearls draw first blood

Team Uganda made no mistake and duly produced a spirited performance to defeat hosts Kenya by eight wickets in the Quadrangular Twenty20 Series in Nairobi on Tuesday.

Coaches Lawrence Ssematimba and his assistant Lawrence Ssempijja got the soft landing after their team ably chased a target of 55 runs with two balls to space in the match reduced to 10 overs at Gymkhana Club.

The four-nation invitational T20 championship has attracted three East African teams including Tanzania as well as Qatar with the goal to improve the global T20 rankings.

ICC is set to consider the world’s top 20 teams as priority in the next cycle of qualification to the T20 World Cup and for Uganda’s Victoria Pearls, this is key.

Kenya, ranked 23rd and two places below Uganda in the International Cricket Council (ICC) women’s T20 rankings, had been stuck in by opposite skipper Consy Aweko.

Mary Mwangi (13 off 21), wicket-keeper Sharon Juma (11 off 10) and Venasa Ooko (11* off 8) hit double digits as Uganda’s bowling unit of Evelyn Anyipo (1/9), Sarah Akiteng (1/11) and Irene Alumo (0/7) fought on.

The resilience seemed to have been enough as Uganda’s openers Kevin Awino (10 off 26) and Proscovia Alako (27 off 21) shared 40 runs in 6.5 overs. Immaculate Nakisuyi would then finish off the job with a boundary for 9* off eight balls.

The Victoria Pearls, who won a tour of Nepal and took third place at the Kwibuka Peace Cup in Rwanda early in the year, return to Gymkhana to face 45th ranked Qatar on Wednesday.

KENYA QUADRANGULAR WOMEN’S T20 SERIES

RESULT

Kenya 54/3 Uganda 58/2

(Uganda won by 8 wickets)

UGANDA’S FIXTURES - GYMKHANA OVAL

Wednesday: Uganda vs. Qatar, 2:30pm

Thursday: Uganda vs. Kenya, 2:30pm

Saturday: Tanzania vs. Uganda, 10:30am

Sunday: Uganda vs. Kenya, 10:30am

Monday: Qatar vs. Uganda, 10:30am

Wednesday: 3rd/4th Play Off (10:30am) or Final (2:30pm)