The old English adage goes like; “It is not how you start that matters, but just how you finish.” Well this didn’t work for Kutchi Tigers whose late rally in the second round of the Jazz Safari National Men’s Division One League saw them finish only good enough for third place.

Aziz Damani were coasting home with the title when Kutchi Tigers’ quartet of imports who had come to town to play in the Season Five of the Rainbow Paints Night Cricket League turned over the arms and willows for Kutchi Tigers.

Dinesh Nakrani and Ronak Patel were part of the names that lit up the league but it was affable Raghvani Shantilal that got everyone talking with this back-to-back clinical displays that saw him usurp the Most Valuable Player’s gong from Cricket Cranes captain Roger Mukasa (Tornado Bee) and all-rounder Irfan Afridi (Challengers) to the MVP Award for the top tier with 17 points.

Sackful of runs

Shantilal scored a sackful of runs for Kutchi Tigers piling up 554 runs in 13 innings which included four half centuries and one massive ton that helped Kutchi leap from fifth on the log to third in a devastating second round for the Indians-oriented club that saw them lose no game in the game.

Mukasa had a quiet year for his high standards scoring only 297 runs in a season where Tornado Bee were seeking their fifth title in a row. He picked up a team high 23 wickets while rolling over his arm helping his team finish behind eventual winners Aziz Damani.

In a failed campaign for Challengers, Afridi carried them with his mystery spinners but Mohammed Vaheed-facilitated club couldn’t challenge for the title as they ended up in a lowly fifth. But Afridi, who has moved camp to Kampala Institute of Cricket Clubs (KICC), will be looking to build on the good returns he managed with the Cricket Cranes.

His consolation was a haul of 33 wickets which got him the Best Bowler’s award as he finished with 14 points, same as Mukasa.

The other individual winners in Division 1 were Aziz Damani’s Arnold Otwani (Best Wicketkeeper), and Tornado Bee’s Deus Muhumuza (12 fielding dismissals), who claimed the Best Fielder’s diadem. Damani also pocketed Uganda Shillings Five Million Shillings alongside the title.


MEN DIVISION ONE – INDIVIDUAL WINNERS

Player of Series: Raghvani Shantilal (Kutchi Tigers) 17 points
Best Batsman: Raghvani Shantilal (Kutchi Tigers) - 554 runs in 13 inns
Best Bowler: Irfan Afridi Sahibzada (Challengers) - 33 wickets
Best Fielder: Deus Muhumuza (Tornado Bee) - 12 dismissals
Best Wicket-keeper: Arnold Otwani (Aziz Damani) - 20 dismissals