Uganda Beat Lesotho by 5 Wickets — Kenneth Waiswa's 4 for 18 Keeps Uganda Perfect

A day after their recovery against Mozambique, Lesotho chose to bat again on Oval 2 and found Uganda's bowlers in no mood to allow a second one. Chachole Tlali was run out by Olipa Gerald in the second over, Lerotholi Gabriel was caught behind off Riazat Ali Shah in the third, and by the ninth over Lesotho were 30 for 4. Maaz Khan, who had made 52 the day before, hit four sixes in 38 from 32 balls and was the only batter past 14. When Kenneth Waiswa had him caught behind in the 17th over Lesotho were 77 for 6, and Waiswa took Lefulere Monanthane three balls later; the last five wickets went for ten runs and Lesotho were all out for 87 in 19.3 overs.

Ts'episo Chaoana made Uganda work for it. He had Robinson Obuya lbw with the first ball of the chase, then Raghav Dhawan lbw and Riazat caught behind, and at 64 for 5 in the ninth over Uganda still needed 24. Sumeet Verma and Alpesh Ramjani took them there without further alarm. Uganda won by 5 wickets with 45 balls remaining.

Waiswa's four wickets came from both ends of the innings: Lebona Leokaoke caught behind in the sixth over, then Khan, Monanthane bowled and Chaoana lbw as the tail was cleared. Four overs, 18 runs. He had batted for three not out at the death against Zambia and bowled one over for nine; this was the day the all-rounder's ball did the talking. Around him, nobody gave Lesotho anything. Pius Oloka's four overs went for 14, Alpesh Ramjani's two for three, Kasaija's three and a half for 12 with two late wickets, and Kakuru held three catches behind the stumps. Six bowlers, 83 runs off the bat and four extras.

The chase was quick and slightly untidy. Riazat hit three sixes in 26 from 15 and Gerald two in 20 from 11, and Uganda were 61 for 3 after seven overs. Then Gerald and Waiswa fell within ten balls, and Verma's calm 20 from 22 was worth more than its strike rate. Two wins, two comfortable margins.

Lesotho's batting could not reproduce the previous day. Mohmed Duvesh Patel, 63 against Mozambique, made seven from 15 balls; Ajaz Patel and Inshaf Farook used up 28 balls for 13. Khan's 38 with four sixes was the one passage in which the bat looked dominant, and when he fell, the innings went quickly. Three of the ten wickets were catches by Kakuru behind the stumps, and Tlali's run out in the second over set the tone.

The ball told a better story. Chaoana's 4-0-13-3, the first-ball lbw included, was as good a full spell as anyone bowled on the day, and Patel and Thamae each struck as well. Defending 87 needed early wickets and Lesotho took five of them in nine overs. They simply had too few runs to work with.

At 77 for 5 in the 17th over, with Khan set, Lesotho had a chance at 110 or so, which on this evidence would have been a contest. Waiswa took Khan with the third ball of the 17th and Monanthane with the sixth, Kasaija took two more and Waiswa one, and the last five wickets fell for ten runs in 19 balls. It is often the quietest overs, the ones nobody remembers afterwards, that decide a T20 game, and these were the ones Uganda won.

This match didn't have a CricIntel preview — we'll have full analysis for the next encounter.

Uganda and Nigeria are the two sides on two wins from two after the first two days; Lesotho and Mozambique have one win each, and Zambia and Gambia none. The round robin in Abuja runs until October 25. Uganda still have Nigeria, Mozambique and Gambia to play; Lesotho still have Nigeria, Zambia and Gambia.