Result
- Uganda 254/9 in 50 overs
- Italy 230/10 in 49.3 overs
- Uganda won by 24 runs
Cricket Cranes secured a hard-fought 24-run victory over Italy on Wednesday at the Lakeside Oval in Entebbe. The win took them to the top of the table in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup Challenge League with 7 points, remaining unbeaten in the competition.
Uganda won the toss and chose to bat first. Italy’s bowlers started well, with Grant Stewart keeping things tight in the opening overs. However, Uganda struggled early on, losing three wickets in the first 30 overs. By then, they had only managed to score 110 runs with Raghav Dhawan (48) and Brian Masaba (22) contributing.
It was team captain Riazat Ali Shah and Dinesh Nakrani who turned things around. The pair put on a brilliant 83-run partnership, both scoring half-centuries to steady the innings and push Uganda past 200 runs.
Italy’s chase began strongly, with openers Emilio Gay and Joe Burns taking control. They reached 93 in the first 15 overs. But the introduction of Henry Ssenyondo changed the game. He took the key wickets of Emilio Nico Gay and Italian captain Marcus Campopiano in quick succession. Ssenyondo also dismissed Gareth Kyle Berg and returned later to remove Joseph Burns.
Ramjani, despite conceding 50 runs in his first spell, made a crucial comeback, taking 4 wickets in the final 15 overs. With Italy’s innings collapsing, Uganda completed a dominant win.
Uganda now sits at the top of the table, two points clear, and will return to action on Saturday against Bahrain in their final fixture of the first round.
