Nakrani stars as Uganda secure first victory in Mumbai
Dinesh Nakrani scored a team-best 51 runs, and Simon Ssesazi fell one run short of his half-century before Uganda XI were dismissed for 221 in 45.5 overs by MCA Colts.
Dinesh Nakrani. Courtesy photo
Uganda Tour of MCA
Result
Uganda XI 221 MCA Colts XI 166/10
(Uganda win by 55 runs)
Tomorrow
Uganda v MCA
The batting performance did not tick all the boxes. Steve Tikolo’s Cricket Cranes pulled off the victory anyway, ensuring a winning start to their eight-game tour to Mumbai.
Dinesh Nakrani scored a team-best 51 runs, and Simon Ssesazi fell one run short of his half-century before Uganda XI were dismissed for 221 in 45.5 overs by MCA Colts. That performance fell short of Uganda’s stated objectives for the tour, batting out the totality of their overs.
Moreover, Uganda’s total looked anything but secure, especially on foreign soil. But appearances can be deceptive, and whatever certainties the Colts might have felt after the first innings, Uganda dispelled them beautifully.
Alpesh Ramjani led Uganda’s defence with 4/40, with Henry Ssenyondo (2/32), Joseph Baguma (2/38), and Cosmas Kyewuta (2/28) each taking a pair of wickets. Mumbai were all out for 166 in 36.4 overs as a convincing display of bowling turned the screws in Uganda’s favour.
Uganda are gearing up for the third leg of the Cricket Challenge League B, a pathway to ODI status for the Cricket Cranes, and are hoping the tour to Mumbai can play a significant role in the team’s preparation for that event.
For that to happen, the Cricket Cranes must be adequately tested in India, perhaps a lot more than Colts did.