Aziz Damani close in on league title

Jazz Safari National League

Division 1

KICC 142 Damani 94/3 (Damani win by seven wickets D/L)

Challengers 219 Tornado Bee 173 (Challengers win by 46 runs D/L)

Charity 53/9 Patidar 54 (Charity win by 360 runs)

Division 2

Wanderers 256/9 Premier 178/9 (Wanderers win by 212 runs D/L)

Two games to go, two points required. That is the update on the Aziz Damani title-chase, which is now virtually certain of bearing fruit after Sunday's key events in the Jazz Safari National League top division.

Leaders Damani won and closest challengers Tornado Bee lost and with two games to go, the gap between the two is back to 10 points.

"We knew we had to bounce back after our defeat to Kutchi," said assistant skipper Brian Masaba after Damani's seven-wicket win over KICC at Lugogo.

Four-time defending champions Tornado Bee knew they could not afford to lose to the Challengers in Entebbe with their hopes of an unprecedented fifth successive title running out of time.

But the Challengers, who have flopped all season long in similar big games, finally came to the party, condemning Tornado Bee to a 46-run defeat.

Tornado Bee went through the first round unbeaten but this was their third defeat in five second round games.

Arthur Kyobe's match-best 82 runs for the Challengers was good for man-of-match while Shazad Ukani added a half-century.

Deus Muhumuza, who claimed a team-best 3/34 for Tornado Bee also led his team's batting with 43 runs.

Masaba took 4/30 and the man-ofmatch gong in Damani's crucial victory over KICC.

"Anything can happen so we can't take anything for granted," Masaba added.