Uganda Cricket Cranes produced a spirited response to Tuesday’s heartbreak, defeating MCA Colts XI by four wickets in Dahanu to level their Mumbai Tour T20 series at 1-1 in a performance marked by disciplined bowling, emerging talent and honest self-assessment from the team leadership.
On a demanding surface at the Adani Stadium, Uganda restricted MCA Colts XI to 133 for nine before chasing down the target with four balls to spare. While the victory offered encouragement following the narrow one-wicket defeat to Mumbai Falcons, stand-in captain Henry Ssenyondo and coach Steve Tikolo both admitted the batting unit must show greater maturity and composure ahead of major ICC assignments later this year.
Tour debutants Sarvesh Patil and Tanvish Vaze played central roles in Uganda’s recovery. Patil anchored the innings with a composed 54 off 43 balls while Vaze added an aggressive 38 from 25 deliveries and also impressed with the ball, claiming three wickets to earn Player of the Match honours.
Uganda were asked to field first after MCA Colts XI won the toss, but the Cricket Cranes quickly imposed control through disciplined bowling and sharp fielding. Vaze led the attack with figures of 3 for 26 while Enock Kasaija continued his impressive start to the tour with 2 for 25. Cosmas Kyewuta, Juma Miyaji and Siraje Nsubuga each chipped in with a wicket as Uganda repeatedly disrupted partnerships.
Despite a late unbeaten 32 from Satyam Chaudhary, the hosts were restricted to a manageable total of 133 for nine.
The match also marked Ssenyondo’s first outing as Uganda captain after regular skipper Fred Achelam was rested. The left-arm spinner praised the collective effort from the bowling attack.
“It was a collective effort from the bowlers to restrict them to 133 runs,” Ssenyondo said after the match. “I am happy with the way things went on my first outing as skipper despite not winning the toss. It was a nice day and we will take the win. A win is a win.”
Uganda’s chase began confidently through the calm batting of Patil and the attacking approach of Vaze. Patil rotated strike effectively while punishing loose deliveries, helping stabilize the innings after early wickets. Vaze counterattacked whenever momentum threatened to shift, while Anas Baig added a patient 13 runs.
However, Uganda again struggled to close out the chase comfortably. A series of soft dismissals and questionable shot selection allowed MCA Colts XI back into the contest before Uganda eventually reached 134 for six in 19.2 overs.
Ssenyondo openly criticised the batting display despite the victory.
“I thought though we didn’t chase well,” he admitted. “There were a couple of soft dismissals from our batsmen. We left ourselves in a situation where our bowlers had to chase down the target at the end. That is not good.”
“In this developing world of cricket, that is not smart cricket. We need to do better and the batsmen too have to do their job.”
Coach Steve Tikolo echoed the captain’s concerns, stressing that Uganda’s batters must learn to build longer innings and finish games more clinically if the side is to compete consistently at international level.
“We continue to learn plenty of lessons,” Tikolo said. “We need to bat out our overs. It will give us more runs if we can do that. We need to keep reminding our top batters to spend more time out there in the middle.”
Tikolo also challenged the senior batting group to take greater ownership of results.
“We need to tell them that it is their responsibility,” he added. “They need to become accomplished batters and see the games through.”
Despite the concerns, the coach praised the squad’s growing depth and adaptability throughout the tour. Uganda again rotated players heavily, resting Achelam and Joseph Baguma while giving opportunities to players pushing for larger roles ahead of upcoming ICC competitions.
The performances of Patil, Vaze and Kasaija further highlighted the emerging depth within the Cricket Cranes setup as Uganda continue preparations for the ICC Cricket World Cup Challenge League B in Tanzania and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Sub-Regional Qualifiers in Nigeria later this year.
The series now stands level at 1-1 ahead of Uganda’s next fixture against Mumbai Colts XI on May 29 at the Adani Stadium in Dahanu.
