Sunday Result – T20I
Namibia 185 runs for 7 wickets in 20 overs
Uganda 133 runs all out in 19.2 overs
Namibia won by 52 runs
Namibia Richelieu Eagles win series 2-1
In front of a partisan home crowd, Namibia rallied from Day 2’s shock loss for a 52-run triumph to register a 2-1 Castle Lite Twenty20 International Series victory over Uganda at the Trustco United Cricket Club Oval in Windhoek this evening.
It was a one-man show for Namibia who got out of jail with both bat and ball courtesy of Johannes Jonathan Smit. With Uganda clearly on top and dictating the pace, JJ Smit single-handedly got the Richelieu Eagles from a spot of bother at 60 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in 10 overs with a blistering inning of 71 runs off 35 balls to steer them to a commanding 185 runs for 7 wickets.
And then with Uganda needing about 9.2 runs per over to notch a rare series against a ‘Big Boy’ away from home, the 26-year-old wreaked havoc in Uganda’s batting line-up with a mind-boggling shift during which he prized out 6 wickets for just 10 runs in his four-over spell.
Uganda’s top-order batsmen Arnold Otwani and Kenneth Waiswa both fell to JJ Smit LBW (Leg Before Wicket) and caught at the long-on boundary respectively without troubling the scorers.
Frank Akankwasa, Frank Nsubuga, and debutant Juma Miyagi were also JJ Smit’s culprits on the day as well as Uganda’s half-centurion Simon Ssesazi, who stroked 58 off 47 balls in a losing cause.
The left-hand opening batsman wasn’t the only shining light in Uganda’s team on the day as Dinesh Nakrani (27 off 16) also flourished in his brief cameo that had two boundaries and two sixes as well 19-year-old Miyagi whose the first wicket in international cricket was Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus. Miyagi, who was among the top wicket-takers at the U-19 World Cup in West Indies last January, finished with impressive figures of 1 for 21 in 3 overs.
Cosmas Kyewuta wrapped up the series as the most improved Ugandan bowler after returning figures of 1 wicket for 18 runs in 4 overs in the decider.
With the T20I Series out of the way, the two nations will change codes to the 50-over format where two matches are lined up on Tuesday (April 12) and Wednesday (April 13) at the Trustco United Cricket Club Ground starting at 10.30 am.
