Uganda 215 for 8 (Kayondo 51, Masaba 47, Javed 2-48) beat Denmark 129 all out (Shah 37, Bharaj 32, Mukasa 2-3) by one run via DLS method
Scorecard
© Peter Della Penna
How the tide turns. A day after being demolished, Uganda scripted a comeback only dreams are made of. Demark needed five runs off the final over, with four wickets in hand. Then, they committed hara-kiri as Roger Mukasa, the captain, brought himself on for the first time and created magic at the Kinrara Oval in Kuala Lumpur.
Mukada darted his part-time offspin from around the stumps into Denmark’s right-handers, denied them the room for the swing and created panic that delivered two wickets and two run outs. This meant Denmark were delayed promotion to Division Three, while Uganda gave themselves an excellent chance to get there.
It boiled down to No. 11 Bashir Shah needing three off the final ball. He flicked the ball into the gap at deep midwicket, only for Henry Ssenyondo’s athleticism and a sharp relay to Fred Achelam catching Bashir short of the crease to trigger wild celebration.
Demark were at 73 for 4 in 23.4 overs when rain delayed play for a little over two hours. When they returned, Denmark were set a revised target of 131 in 29 overs. They took it till the end, only for it to disintegrate at the last moment.
For the third match in a row, Irfan and Ssenyondo took the new ball and they reduced Denmark to 7 for 2 inside four overs. With rain clouds lurking, Denmark continued to trail on DLS par. They suffered another setback when Freddie Klokker chipped softly to midwicket off Deusdedit Muhumuza in the 22nd over, just 14 balls before play was halted.
Uganda’s chances of setting a defendable total looked bleak at 155 for 7 in 45 overs. Despite a 79-run third-wicket stand between Masaba and Kayondo, their platform for a rocket boost cameo from Irfan backfired when he was out for 3 in the 37th over.
It took a ferocious assault from Achelam and Kenneth Waiswa to add 60 off the last five, including a backbreaking 20-run 49th over. Achelam was eventually named Man of the Match for his 39 off 28 balls to go along with his clean takes to complete the pair of last-over run outs.
Peter Della Penna is ESPNcricinfo’s USA correspondent @PeterDellaPenna
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Source: ESPN Crickinfo