By NORBERT Abbi
Match Summary
Ceylon Lions 209/10 in 49 overs (J Ssebanja 71 off 99, S Ssesazi 28 off 56) Beat KICC 144/10 in 45.3 overs (F Nsubuga 35 off 40, D Ruyange 32 off 68) by 65 runs
Man of Match: Jonathan Ssebanja
KICC cannot seem to find a much needed win with today’s loss coming at the hands of a resurgent Lions’ side. This loss puts them closer to the dreaded relegation zone with every passing moment.
The Lions won the toss and elected to bat first and managed a figure just a little over 200. The Lions did not have the best of starts as they started losing wickets as early as the 6th over when opener Narinder fell to leave the team at 22/1. Otwani’s introduction at number four did little to stifle the wickets falling as he quickly fell to put his side at 59/3.
The wickets kept falling and in the 27th over, the Lions were 95/6. At this point, the game seemed to be leaning toward KICC. To coin the adage that cricket is a cruel game would make a mockery of the exploits of both teams as Jonathan Ssebanja (71 off 99) strode in and played the proverbial night watchman role to steer his team to the 200 run mark.
This was perhaps his best performance of the 2018 season so far as the ground it out against the KICC bowlers to give his team a lifeline. At 209/10, the Lions had a respectable score they knew they could defend.
In their run chase, KICC suffered a huge set back when they lost Ziraba, Falak and Amer for only 15 runs in 6 overs. Alema was the main architect in this early and quick collapse picking two wickets in consecutive balls with Miyagi sweeping up the third in the over that followed. At that point, the tides changed in favor of the Lions as they went on to assert their dominance in the game.
The Lions were more than happy to see the overs tick away as every dot ball counted in their favor. KICC faulted themselves in their chase as 60% of their wickets were dead-on giveaways through catches and run outs in the field. Their failure to weather the storm saw them lose yet another game that puts them a lot closer to the redline separating the survivors from those facing the drop.
