By Faith Munezero
Game 1 - Lugogo Oval (March 31)
Aziz Damani 158/7 in 20 overs (Rogers Mukasa 53 off 45 balls, Frank Nsubuga 28* off 22 balls; Collins Okwalinga 2/24 in 4 overs, Derrick Bakunzi 2/27 in 4 overs) beat Patidar Samaj 93/10 in 17 overs (Ankit Patel 45 off 45 balls; Frank Nsubuga 5/14 in 4 overs, Brian Masaba 2/4 in 1 over) by 65 runs.
Man of Match: Frank Nsubuga (5/14 in 4 overs & 28* off 22 balls)
Game 2 - Lugogo Oval
Patidar Samaj 123/10 in 20 overs (Hardik Patel 38 off 30 balls; Saud Islam 4/23 in 4 overs, Brian Masaba 2/12 in 3 overs, Charles Waiswa 2/18 in 4 overs) lost to Aziz Damani 125/1 in 11.3 overs (Rogers Mukasa 51 off 27 balls, Saud Islam 49* off 30 balls; Derrick Bakunzi 1/10 in 2 overs) by 9 wickets.
Man of Match: Saud Islam (4/23 in 4 overs & 49* off 30 balls)
Game 1 - Entebbe Oval (March 31)
KICC 114/6 in 20 overs (Frank Akankwasa 52* off 49 balls, Arthur Ziraba 25 off 28 balls; Yogesh Rabadiya 2/8 in 3 overs, Shailesh Halai 2/15 in 4 overs) beat SKLPS 84/9 in 20 overs (Ghanshyam Hirani 33 off 43 balls; Lawrence Sempijja 2/10 in 4 overs, Irfan Afridi 2/4 in 4 overs) by 30 runs.
Man of Match: Frank Akankwasa (52* off 42 balls & 2/11 in 2 overs)
Game 2: Entebbe Oval
SKLPS 63/10 in 19 overs (Dipak Limbani 16 off 23 balls; Frank Akankwasa 4/12 in 4 overs, Hanumant Katkar 2/19 in 4 overs) lost to KICC 67/3 in 10.1 overs (Simon Ssesazi 31* off 25 balls; Paresh Patel 2/20 in 3 overs) by 7 wickets.
Man of Match: Frank Akankwasa (4/12 in 4 overs)
With only two games on the menu over the weekend, the attention was on either the Lugogo or Entebbe Oval with Patidar Samaj taking on Aziz Damani while Kampala Institute of Cricket Clubs sought to hold onto the number one spot by facing Shree Kutch Leva Patel Samaj (SKLPS).
The weekend’s two victors had jittery starts but both recovered well enough in quick time, thanks to their star players to steady their ships and cruise home with little discomfort. Here's the full report.
Patidar Samaj fail Aziz Damani test
A side that's oscillated between wins and losses in seasons gone-by, Patidar Samaj turned up at Lugogo ready to give Aziz Damani a run for their monies.
With their game face on, they looked ready to bowl out the Damani side in super quick time. Within the seven overs, Cosmas Kyewuta (1/26 in 3 overs) and Innocent Mwebaze (1/40 in 3 overs) had taken out Saud Islam (0 off 4 balls) and Fred Achelam (25 off 19 balls).
But there was no sigh of relief for the side because Damani were moving at eight runs an over and looking to up the tempo further. Rogers Mukasa (53 off 45 balls) together with Riazat Ali Shah (27 off 21 balls) stalled anymore falling wickets, with a crucial 71-run partnership before Derrick Bakunzi's spin lured Shah from his crease to have him stumped out. Mukasa, who had just reached his half ton, fell to a well executed run-out dismissal an over later by the Amal/Kyewuta combo while attempting a second run to leave the scoreboard reading 130 for 4 in 15 overs.
Nsubuga’s nerve
It was Frank Nsubuga (28* off 22 balls) who held his nerve, even as he lost partners in three successive overs thanks to Collins Okwalinga (2/22 in 4 overs) and Bakunzi (2/27 in 4 overs) with captain Ghulam Hunzai (2* off 6 balls) to bring the exciting innings to an end with a set score of 158/7.
Patidar commenced the chase with determination, led by captain Ankit Patel (45 off 45 balls) and Hardik Patel (18 off 20 balls) before Nsubuga struck in the seventh over to have Ankit Patel agonisingly fall short of a half century by five runs. Jignesh Parekh did not bother the scorers as Nsubuga picked his second.
Almost six overs later, the wily veteran took three more to complete his fiver, leaving a floundering Patidar side in tatters and snapping up a well deserved Man of the Match (MOM) gong. Charles Waiswa (1/12 in 3 overs), Henry Ssenyondo (1/17 in 4 overs) and Mustaq Ahmed (1/7 in 1 over) took one a piece before Brian Masaba (2/4 in 1 over) cleaned up the tail with his first and last deliveries to have the side all out for only 93 runs.
Patidar fight in vain
The second game saw a spirited fight from Patidar. Opting to bat, Ankit Patel did not repeat his heroics in the first game after being bowled out for a duck by Emmanuel Isaneez (1/12 in 3 overs). Hardik Patel put on 38 off 30 balls that witnessed some splendid hard-hitting in the fifth over with two sixes and two boundaries to put on 20 quick runs in four balls!
Together with Ronald Opio (16 off 17 balls) and Amar Lakhani (15 off 11 balls), they pushed Patidar to 74 for 3 within 10 overs before Saud Islam struck for Damani picking four vital wickets to halt the late lusty blows, while Masaba (2/12 in 3 overs) and Waiswa (2/18 in 4 overs) equally shared four scalps.
The chase was quick, with Mukasa (51 off 27 balls) and Islam (49* off 30 balls) contributing the most. Patidar's only consolation was the vital wicket of Mukasa that was claimed by Bakunzi (1/10 in 2 overs) before Saud and Shah (21* off 13 balls) wrapped things up to authoritatively win the game by nine wickets.
KICC remain atop with SKLPS win
The saying, 'a bad beginning makes a good ending' couldn't have been truer for KICC's start in the morning game. At 11/4 after five overs, one wondered whether it was a game of dominoes. The orchestrators of this quick dominoes-like turn of events were Shailesh Halai (2/15 in 4 overs) and Yogesh Rabadiya (2/8 in 3 overs). But Arthur Ziraba (25 off 28 balls) and Frank Akankwasa (52* off 49 balls) came in hard and fast to calm the storm. Piling on 48 runs before Ziraba was bowled out by Dipak Limbani (1/22 in 4 overs), Akankwasa kept the scores ticking with Deusdedit Muhumuza (17* off 13 balls) contributing to help KICC set 116/6 at the end of the innings.
KICC set to defend 116 runs with Irfan Afridi (2/4 in 4 overs) and Suleiman Sharif (1/10 in 4 overs) picking two quick wickets as well. Ghanshyam Hirani top scored for SKLPS with 33 off 43 balls before being caught. Yogesh Rabadiya was off to a quick start with 15 off 12 balls before military medium pacer Lawrence Ssempijja (2/10 in 4 overs) stopped him in his tracks.
It was downhill from there with two more batsmen departing for nought thanks to Muhumuza (2/6 in 1 over) and another for single figures by Akankwasa (2/11 in 2 overs) to have SKLPS at 84/9 to fall short of the target by 30 runs.
SKLPS slow start
SKLPS then won the toss and elected to bat in the afternoon game. It was a very slow start for the batsmen putting on 30 runs for the loss of four wickets within 10 overs. Thanks for two wickets from Sempijja and one each from Akankwasa and Irfan Afridi.
The climb to 63 runs was peppered with wickets, with only Rabadiya (10 off 19 balls) and Limbani (16 off 23 balls) making it to double figures against an aggressive bowling attack led by MOM Akankwasa (4/12 in 4 overs) with four wickets, captain Hanumant Katkar (2/19 in 4 overs) picked two wickets, while Afridi (1/11 in 4 overs) and Muhumuza (1/5 in 2 overs) had one apiece.
The second innings couldn't have come sooner for KICC. Rabadiya (1/22 in 4 overs) stopped Waseem Butt (9 off 5 balls) from flying off too early while Paresh Patel (2/20 in 3 overs) did the same for Sharif and Afridi to bag the only three wickets for the side that day.
It was hard-hitting from there with the brothers Simon Ssesazi (31* off 25 balls) and Ssempijja (12* off 20 balls) taking the team home to win by 7 wickets. KICC are very comfortable atop the league table with 36 points and will now take a well-deserved break.
