Result
Qatar 250/9 in 50 overs
Uganda 240/10 in 43 overs
Qatar won by 10 runs
After a painful 2022 that saw Cricket Cranes miss out on the chance of attaining an ODI status after finishing second behind Jersey on net run rate, the team has gone ahead to start the 2023 preparations with a tour to Qatar.
Uganda won the toss and asked Qatar to bat first, but their small mistakes at both innings could have cost them as they lost by 10 runs.
There was little for the pace bowlers to change as they picked no wickets in the overs they bowled but the spin options did the twist with Alpesh Ramjan and Henry Ssenyondo registering figures of 4/38 and 2/13 respectively before the hosts managed to reach 250/9 in 50 overs.
Uganda had a poor response to their innings as they lost three wickets for a total of 15 runs, a score that had Cricket Cranes at the back until the introduction of Ali Riazat Shah and Ronak Patel partnership. The pair had a 64 run partnership, a score that brought life to the chase.
Alpesh Ramjan didn’t only have a good show with the ball but also was involved in the hard work with Riazat Ali Shah with a 104 run partnership as each posted 65 runs and 84 runs respectively to enable Uganda completely take the lead in the chase.
But once the pair was lost, wickets fell at an unnoticed rate with most being runouts that saw Uganda pay off for the small mistakes as they picked their first loss of the tour.
Both teams will take a rest and return to action on Saturday in the same format as there will be much to watch with Uganda seeming to have picked a lot of positives from the first game.
