Ali Shah guides Uganda to ACA T20 glory
Uganda won by eight wickets with two balls to spare.
Riazat Ali Shah smashed a 53-ball 98 to guide Uganda to an eight-wicket victory over Tanzania to clinch the African Cricket Association (ACA) T20 Africa Cup at Willowmoore Park on September 22.
Ali Shah’s performance was nothing short of magical as his sublime effort ensured his team reached their target of 175.
He came to the crease with Uganda wobbling on 28-2 inside the power-play to share a third-wicket partnership of 157 with Deusdedit Mahumuza, who chipped in with 50 runs from 48 balls.
The all-rounder was impressive in the middle overs, keeping the score ticking with singles and twos. It was in the 17th over that Ali Shah took the game away from the Tanzanians as he scored 22 runs from the bowling of Ally Mpeka.
At that point, Uganda needed 48 to win from 17 balls and Ali Shah smashed three maximums and a boundary to set the stadium alight.
The Cricket Cranes won the toss and captain Brian Masaba decided to send their opponents to bat. He almost regretted that decision as the opening pair of Abhik Patwa and Ivan Ismail scored over 80 runs in the first eight overs.
Patwa and Ismail were brutal in the power-play as they reached their half-century inside 4.5 overs. They were on 65 for no loss at the end of the power-play.
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With the run rate ticking above 11 runs an over, Masaba called on leg spinner Alpesh Ramjani. This decision yielded immediate results as he dismissed Ismail with the last ball of the eighth over to break the Tanzanians’ opening stand of 83.
The second wicket fell in the 14th over after Mahumuza bowled Amal Rajeevan and he would grab his second scalp of the innings in the 16th over. Patwa attempted to go big but his miscued shot was caught by Juma Miyaji, to depart for 68 from 55 deliveries with seven boundaries and three maximums.
Miyaji and Cosmas Kyewuta grabbed the wickets of Kassim Cheta and Harsheed Chohan in the death overs with Tanzania setting Uganda a target of 175 to win.
Uganda was required to score over nine runs an over but their chase began with a wobble as the openers could not perform beyond the first three overs.
Masaba was dismissed for a duck by Chohan in the first over. Simon Ssesazi would soon follow his captain to shed in the third over having scored 18 runs from 16 deliveries.
However, Ali Shah and Mahumuza formed a formidable third-wicket partnership that landed Lawrence Mahatlane’s side the trophy, with the former scoring the winning runs in the 19th over to win by eight wickets with two balls to spare.
The top players were,
• Player of the tournament – Irfan Karim.
• Batsman of the tournament – Riazat Ali Shah.
• Fielder of the tournament – Dhrov Maisuria.
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