By Denis Musali
Match Summary
Sierra Leone 86/8 20 overs
Uganda 87/1 12.5/20 overs
Uganda won by 9 wickets
The Victoria Pearls of Uganda secured their semifinal place in the ICC Africa T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Botswana with a resounding nine-wicket win over Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone won the toss and elected to bat 1st but they failed to deal with the slow bowling approach of Uganda as they struggled to get going scoring at a rate of two an over in the 1st 10 overs.
Stephanie Nampiina (3/18), Immaculate Nakisuyi (2/25), and Janet Mbabazi (2/15) took the wickets while Consy Aweko bowled a tidy spell going for just seven runs in her four overs. Sierra Leone managed to score 87/8 in their 20 overs.
Kevin Awino (39) and Rita Musamali (33) took care of the business in the chase with a second-wicket partnership of 72 that ensured victory for the Victoria Pearls. Kevin Awino walked away with the player of the match award for her knock and work with the gloves.
The focus of the Victoria Pearls now turns to Zimbabwe who they will face in the semi-finals on Friday. Head Coach Suraj Karavadra is confident the side will be able to make the final on Sunday.
We showed the kind of dominance that we are capable of doing as a unit, our batting finally clicked and Kevin Awino has stepped up for us at the top of the order where we have been having issues. We might make changes for the semi-final since its a winner takes all, our goal still remains for us to make the finals therefore we shall use the two days break to work on our game plans for the semi-finals.
The ladies will take a break for the next two days as they wait for the semi-final on Friday.