Uganda continued their winning start at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Sub-Regional Qualifier C with a five-wicket victory over Lesotho at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium NCF Oval 2 in Abuja on Wednesday.

The Cricket Cranes bowled Lesotho out for 87 in 19.3 overs before reaching 89 for five in 12.3 overs to secure their second consecutive win in the six-team tournament.

Vice-captain Kenneth Waiswa led Uganda’s bowling attack, taking four wickets for 18 runs in four overs to earn Player of the Match honours. Enock Kasaija claimed two wickets for 12 runs, while Pius Oloka, Joseph Baguma and Riazat Ali Shah took one wicket each.

After losing the toss, Uganda made an early breakthrough, reducing Lesotho to 30 for four. However, former Lesotho captain Maaz Khan offered resistance with 38 off 32 balls, including four sixes and a boundary.

Khan’s dismissal at 77 for six, caught by wicketkeeper Cyrus Kakuru off Waiswa, triggered a collapse as Lesotho lost their final four wickets for just 10 runs.

Oloka, making his T20 International debut, finished with one wicket for 14 runs in four overs, while Baguma reached the milestone of 50 T20 International wickets for Uganda.

Uganda recover from early setbacks

Uganda’s chase suffered an early setback when Robinson Obuya fell for a golden duck, while Raghav Dhawan scored 10 before both were dismissed leg-before by Lesotho captain Ts’episo Chaoana.

Riazat Ali Shah provided the early momentum with 26 off 15 deliveries, hitting three sixes and a boundary before becoming Chaoana’s third victim.

Gerald Olipa added 20 off 11 balls, but his dismissal, followed by Waiswa’s departure, left Uganda struggling at 64 for five.

Sumeet Verma and Alpesh Ramjani steadied the innings, guiding Uganda to victory without further loss. Verma finished unbeaten on 20 off 22 balls, while Ramjani made 11 not out from 13 deliveries.

Verma sealed the win with a six as Uganda reached their target with 45 balls to spare.

Waiswa calls for batting improvement

Despite the victory, Waiswa said Uganda needed to improve their batting after losing more wickets than necessary during the chase.

He praised the bowlers for their discipline, particularly their improved control of extras compared to the previous match.

“We improved with the bowling with the lines we bowled and from 12 extras yesterday to four today and, more importantly, we restricted them to a low score,” said Waiswa, a former national Under-19 captain.

“Our undoing today is that we gave the opposition at least three more wickets. We should have chased down the target for two wickets. That would have been smart cricket and it would have been to our standard.”

Uganda are targeting a top-two finish in the six-team qualifier to progress to the Africa Regional Final, the next stage in the qualification pathway for the 2028 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

The Cricket Cranes will next face The Gambia on October 23, Mozambique on October 24 and hosts Nigeria on October 25 as they continue their bid to advance to the next stage.