Tanzania upset Uganda, Rwanda show courage

• Tanzanian skipper Kassim Mussa bags first hattrick at Gahanga
• Obuya’s 44 not out guides Kenyans home
• Battle for second spot will go down to final day

Just a day after being humbled, and routed out for 34, the Rwandan side fought back and made Kenya work a lot harder than they would have anticipated. At 48 for six, halfway through their innings, they looked to be in danger of again collapsing.

But, a late scrap by Bashir Songa saw them rise and put up a decent total for Kenya to chase. Songa courageously struck 43 from 31 balls at the death, flaying three sixes to lift his side to 125 all out.

Pushpak Kerai helped himself to four for 25, while Eugene Ochieng took three for 19 to wrap up the tail.

In response, Kenya needed 16.1 overs to get to their tricky total. Alex Obanda again gave them a fast start, with 30 from just 17 balls.

Collins Obuya then finished the job off with a responsible 44 not out from 35 balls. Kenya prevailed by five wickets, to keep their immaculate run going.

In the tight contest of the day, Tanzania were pushed all the way, before eventually prevailing in the final over of their chase. In pursuit of 156 to win, they got there with just five balls to spare, as Uganda made them scrap for every run.

Having batted first, Uganda themselves had compiled 155 for eight in their 20 overs, with skipper Roger Mukasa (38), Ronak Patel (33) and Dinesh Nakrani (32 from 11 balls) all chipping in towards the competitive total. With ball in hand, Zamoyoni Jaboneke garnered three for 28, while Kassim Mussa weighed in with three for 15, the first hattrick at Gahanga.

Tanzania had to go at just short of eight runs an over, against a disciplined attack, and they were made to work very hard for their runs. Abhik Patwa’s 36-ball 47 was the foundation for the chase, before Muhammad Zaifar Khan made 40 not out. He got support from Jaboneke, who added a breezy 32 off just 12 balls to finish off a fine day for Tanzania.

Scores in brief:

Rwanda: 125 all out (B Songa 43, P Kerai 4/25)
Kenya: 129 for five (C Obuya 44 not out, A Obanda 30)
Kenya won by five wickets

Uganda: 155 for eight (R Mukasa 38, R Patel 33, K Mussa 3/15)
Tanzania: 158 for four (A Patwa 47, M Khan 40 not out, Z Jaboneke 32 not out)
Tanzania won by six wickets

Points Table:

Fixtures:

Friday 13th July

9:30am Kenya vs Tanzania
1:50pm Rwanda vs Uganda

Saturday 14th July
9:30am Tanzania vs Rwanda
1:50pm Uganda vs Kenya