Hosts Uganda have suffered defeat to Namibia in the opening match at the ongoing Pearl of Africa Cricket T20 Series in Entebbe, Uganda.
Namibia battled first and put on 145/6 in 20 overs, while Uganda chased and collapsed at 143/5 in all 20 overs. The Namibian side played tight to win by a mere two runs.
Jan Balt was Namibia’s highest scorer with 48 runs from 41 balls. Zacheo Jansen Van Vuuren and Dylan Leicher also picked 43 and 29 runs respectively for the Namibian team.
Liam Basson, Jan De Villiers, Dian Neethling and Zhivago Gronewald were all restricted to runs less than 10, while Handre Klazinga had nil run.
Uganda, who had hoped to chase and show their prowess with the bat, were restricted to 143 runs as Namibia kept it tight with their fielding.
Simon Ssesazi was in tip-top form snatching 66 runs, while Pascal Murungi collected 38 runs from 26 balls for the hosts. Anas Baig also collected double figures of 21 runs, while Kenneth Waiswa and Steve Wabwose had 4 and 1 run respectively.
“This is a very good start for us because it is always good to get a winning momentum in such tournaments,” Namibia’s highest scorer Balt told Xinhua after the match.
Abhay Sharma, Uganda’s head coach said that it was a very tough match against Nambia, but added that they will improve in the next matches. “We had a chance to win the match towards the end, but failed to take our chances,” added Sharma.
The hosts Uganda will return to action against Nigeria on Friday, the same day Kenya takes on the United Arab Emirates.
The Pearl of Africa Cricket T20 Series, which will run through July 27, is also serving as preparation ahead of the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup Qualifier in September. Enditem
Source: Xinhua
Share Us
