By Faith Munezero
Results summary
Aziz Damani CC 255/7 in 50 overs (Saud Islam 70 off 85, Sai Manoj 53 off 68) beat Challengers CC 113/10 all out in 31 overs (Arthur Kyobe 52 off 57, Shahzad Akmal 26 off 36) by 142 runs.
Man of the match: Bilal Hassan 4/31
With the confidence of one who’s accustomed to winning, Aziz Damani continued their winning streak at the lake side oval with a 142 runs win against the Challengers, much as it didn’t come as easy as their last match against KICC.
The Challengers won the toss and opted to field first, but this only went to help the table heads put up a score there were unfortunately unable to chase. Despite great effort from Amir Hamza (2/40) and Mohammed Aneef (1/45) there were unable to tame the 255 score put up, with 7 wickets as their only consolation.
Banking on top order batsmen Hamu Kayondo and Arthur Kyobe, the Challengers were determined to give their opponents a run for their money but Bilal Hassan made quick work of Hamu in the second over before he had a chance to warm up.
Arthur Kyobe managed to get the team to 75 runs, with near run outs, dropped catches being the order of the day for his entire time before he too was caught by Brian Masaba.
Shazhard Akmal and Steven Wabwose tried to steady things for the team, getting them to two runs short of a ton before the latter’s stay was cut short by an lbw. It was raining wickets from there, by the time they made a 100 they had two wickets left. Their misery was however cut short 5 overs later where they were all out in 30 overs.
Aziz Damani CC exhibited great batting prowess from the likes of Sai Manoj 53 (68) and Saud Islam 70 (85) but it was their bowling that proved too much for the Challengers, thanks to man of the match Bilal Hassan 4/31, Henry Ssenyondo 3/20 and Kenneth Waiswa 2/12 who had them all out in 31 overs, even with Riazat missing from the lineup.
The Challengers remain at 3rd place despite their loss, but will need to win their next matches to keep themselves in the top tier of the Division 1 league especially with the looming Strikers and KICC.
This win not only stamps their authority as table heads but even more likely, league winners. With their determination to finish the season unbeaten, this is becoming more plausible with each passing match. One can only imagine which team it will take to rain on their parade because Aziz Damani is on a roll and right now, and only a miracle can keep them from that trophy.