Match Summary
RCA Staff: 74 all out in 17.4 overs
Cowcorner: 75/7 in 13.1 overs
Match Result: Cowcorner won by 3 wickets
At the IPRC Kigali Oval, beneath a sky that threatened nothing but delivered everything, Cowcorner and RCA Staff opened the tournament with a match that felt tight from the very first ball.
RCA Staff were sent in to bat, and almost immediately the tension was visible.
Manasseh Iyaremye flashed briefly a brisk six from five balls before he was gone.
Landry Rurangwa followed soon after for just one.
The top order never quite settled; every promising stroke seemed to carry risk.
Only Aimable Dushimimana looked truly at home.
Patient and composed, he compiled 24 from 35 deliveries, absorbing pressure while wickets fell around him.
Emile Munyampirwa added 12, and captain Leonard Nhamburo chipped in with 11, but partnerships never flourished.
Each time RCA Staff hinted at momentum, a Cowcorner bowler intervened.
Richard Oluka set the tone.
Relentless and probing, he claimed 3 for 16, prying open the middle order just when resistance threatened to form.
Around him, the support cast was equally disciplined Hillary Kuteesa, Felix Musana, Allan Ssemakula, Shane Senyonga, Orumo Gerald, and Brain Masaba all struck.
RCA Staff were bundled out for 74 in 17.4 overs, a total that felt modest but, on that surface, far from meaningless.
If Cowcorner expected an easy chase, Kigali had other ideas.
Jimmy Atuhaire fell for 3. Denis Musaali made only 2. Andrew Nyumba departed without scoring. Gerald Orumo could manage just 3. Suddenly, 75 looked a long way off. RCA Staff sensed it too their fielders grew louder, their bowlers sharper.
Jean Claude Dushengumuremyi and Manasseh Iyaremye pressed hard, refusing to surrender an inch.
Then Derrick Bakunzi stepped in and changed the rhythm.
His 29 from 28 balls was not reckless; it was measured courage. Three crisp boundaries and a clean six shifted the mood.
Kuteesa followed with a lively 13 from 10, nudging Cowcorner closer, but the wickets kept tumbling. At 70 for 7, the game balanced on a knife’s edge.
It was captain Allan Ssemakula who refused to let it slip. With calm authority, he struck an unbeaten 10 from just five deliveries one towering six soaring into the Kigali air and carried his side home at 75 for 7 in 13.1 overs.
Masaba stood beside him on 5 as the winning runs were sealed.
Cowcorner had won by three wickets, but more than that, they had announced the tour in unforgettable fashion.
And with a double header against Siverback looming at the same venue tomorrow, Kigali can expect more nerves, more noise, and perhaps even more drama.