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The Cricket Cranes claimed victory by one run after a tense, nail-biting finish in the final at the Gymkhana oval on Wednesday afternoon.
Uganda Cricket Cranes head coach Laurence Mahatlane has spoken glowingly about his charges, who recovered remarkably to win the Continent T20 Cup in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Cricket Cranes claimed victory by one run after a tense, nail-biting finish in the final at the Gymkhana oval on Wednesday afternoon.
“I think the one thing this group of players has shown is a lot of character; they are willing to fight for the badge; we had so many special moments because, as a team, we never say die,” Mahatlane said after the game.
“What we learn from this is that the team can fight. Also, we don’t rely on one or two people because everyone on the team has a major contribution.”
The Heist
Uganda won the toss and elected to bat, putting up 125 after a bad start of 4/5 in 3.2 overs.
The Kenya Simbas looked so comfortable with the chase until the 15.3 over with Kenneth Waiswa’s LBW on Rakep Patel.
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On the day, Collins Obuya (44) was Uganda’s biggest tormentor, but his show ended with a beautiful catch from Siraje Nsubuga, who got injured but eased the pressure a bit as Kenya required nine runs to win.
Riazat Ali Shah was then left to defend nine runs. Vice-captain Lucas Oluoch and Sukhdeep Singh hustled, but they could only get eight, with Mahatlane’s side clinching the inaugural Continent T20 Cup title by one run.
What Next?
The Cricket Cranes, who are expected back in the country by Friday, will take a few days off to recover before they regroup to prepare for the Castle Lite series in Namibia.
“It’s about growing from here, we’ve got Namibia coming up in two weeks, so a bit of recovery for us, and after that, we go again,” Mahatlane added.
Uganda picked up eight wins from the nine games they played, losing only to Kenya on match day two by 89 runs.
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