Kyambogo Oval
Kutchi Tigers CC 247/8 Dinesh Nakarani 77(95), Anup Kerai 42(51) in 50 Overs beat Strikers CC 159/10 Zephania Arinaitwe 86(63), Perry Wazombe 28(30) in 31.2 Overs by 88 runs
Man of Match: Dinesh Nakrani 77(95), 7/26 in 9.2 overs
With clear skies, the promise for a good day of cricketing was on the cards at the university oval in Kyambogo, and what better game for the conditions than Kutchi Tigers against Strikers CC.
Banking on their batting strength, the Tigers won the toss and chose to bat first, a decision that paid off well for them. Kutchi Tigers set a 247 runs for the loss of 8 wickets in their 50 overs. The Strikers boys got all too familiar with the phrase chasing leather as the heat picked up in the day with the wickets not falling, and runs piling up.
Things did not seem to start as planned for the Tigers as their first 5 wickets fell for a combined 73 runs which led the Strikers into believing they had this one in the bag. The onus was then upon the rest to post a respectable score, and post a respectable score they did! Dinesh Nakarani 77(95) and Anup Kerai 42(51) took up the mantle and together guided their team above the 200 mark.
Just like a hurdles racer who stumbles midway through their race, finishing 1st becomes impossible. This was the case with the Strikers, despite their stellar start. The youthful pair of Zephania Arinaitwe 86(63) and Perry Wazombe 28(30) got Strikers off to a flying start with a 61 run partnership that had the Tigers rethinking their strategy. This however did not last as Perry fell, bringing in Simon Oketcho 11(17) to the crease who did little to trouble to scoreboard.
One would think that after Arinaitwe’s wicket fell with the team at 134 with 7 wickets in hand, the Giant slayers were on course to slay yet another giant. Well, this was not the case as Dinesh Nakarani had other ideas in mind, restricting the remaining 7 wickets to a trifling combined 26 runs ensuring the Tigers walked away with an 88 run victory over the Strikers.
The fairytale kind of run came to an end but the Strikers will not be too disheartened by the loss. They now have to pick themselves up and look forward to their next game having learnt valuable lessons from this encounter with the Tigers.