Uganda's aggressive running between the wickets exposed USA's passive approach in the same discipline as well as in the field as the hosts managed to hold off USA Women on the final ball to secure a win to begin the Easter Cup. 

Photo credit: Cricket Uganda

By Peter Della Penna (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
USA’s tour of Uganda has gotten off to an inauspicious start after the visitors stuttered in a chase of a target of 104 to lose by one run in the opener of the Easter Cup at Entebbe Oval. USA’s poor running between the wickets was a major factor in the defeat as they failed to run a single three on a field with wide boundaries whereas the hosts complete three separate threes in their first innings total of 103 for 5. 
 
USA and Uganda were virtually equal on boundaries (eight fours and one six for USA, nine four for Uganda), and USA actually had fewer dot balls than Uganda (64 dots to Uganda, 60 dots to USA), but Uganda’s better running between the wickets allowed them to run multiple threes. USA also conceded four extras, including three wides, compared to just two extras and one wide by the hosts. 
 
Though the series does not have official T20I status, Uganda showed why they are currently seven places above USA in the Women’s T20I rankings with a far more disciplined effort than the Americans could conjure up. Not only were the Americans poor in their running between the wickets, but they also had several costly drops in the match which led to significant runs for Uganda’s two highest scorers. 
 
USA struck in the opening over of play after Uganda chose to bat first when Maahi Madhavan induced an edge behind on a length ball to Stephanie Nampiina for a golden duck.  USA had a chance to get Uganda captain Janet Mbabazi in the second over of play, but a low return chance on five went through the hands of USA captain Aditi Chudasama. A much clearer opportunity happened off Mbabazi’s bat in the fifth over on 11 when Ritu Singh teased the captain into a slog that produced a skied chance over mid-off, but Lekha Shetty badly misjudged the ball in the air, only for it to land behind her still inside the 25-yard circle. 
 
Singh was able to strike in her subsequent over in the seventh, getting Immaculate Nakisuuyi to drag a ball onto her stumps for 12 after it pitched and turned in sharply to find the bottom edge of an attempted cut to make it 38 for 2 after 7. Mbabazi then fell to Sainavi Kambalapalli in the ninth for 23, slog sweeping the legspinner to Chetna Reddy Pagydyala at deep midwicket to make it 41 for 3. 
 
Eventual top-scorer Esther Iloku arrived at No. 5 and should have been out for 19 in the 13^th over, but Singh was once again let down by her fielding unit as a skied chance to mid-off once again was misjudged this time by Taranum Chopra, who got one hand to the ball reaching above her head but could not hold on in the end. It proved to be very costly as Iloku finished on 40 not out off 38 balls, including two boundaries during a costly 11-run over in the 18^th followed by a three and a two during a 10-run final over that took Uganda to a barely defendable total. 
 
Kambalapalli broke Iloku’s 38-run partnership with Rita Musamali in the 17^th when Musamali sliced a drive to Shetty at backward point for 15 to make it 79 for 4. Singh took her second wicket of the day in the 19^th when Proscovia Alako drove to Isani Vaghela at long-on for 1. Yet Uganda still managed crucial runs at the death, including 10 off the 20^th that Chudasama was mistakenly allowed to bowl by the umpires even though she had already bowled four overs in the match. The error was allowed to occur after scorers and umpires mistakenly credited the eighth over to Shetty when it was in fact bowled by Chudasama, who also bowled the second over as well as the 14^th and 16^th overs. Instead of ending with figures of 0 for 18 off four overs, she technically conceded 28 runs off five overs. 
 
Kambalapalli ended with the best figures on the day for USA, claiming 2 for 14 off her four overs. Singh returned 2 for 18 off her four. Madhavan was not used again after her opening spell and took 1 for 11 off two overs. 
 
Kambalapalli opened the USA chase with two boundaries during an 11-run opening over. But Uganda struck back twice in the second as Mutonyi Irene claimed Kambalapalli and Nikhar Doshi in the space of four balls to make it 12 for 2. 
 
From then on, USA struggled to generate any sustained momentum for the rest of the chase. Pagydyala and Isani Vaghela combined for a 32-run stand that spanned seven overs as the left-handed vice-captain turned over the strike regularly while her right-handed partner found it difficult to do the same. Vaghela was on 1 off 9 balls in the sixth over when she should have been run out taking on a suicide single to midwicket but the throw at the non-striker’s end was wide. After getting back on strike, Vaghela survived two chances off the same delivery on 2, first being dropped at mid-off before the fielder picked up the ball and still had time to run her out after Pagydyala sent Vaghela back, but the throw to the keeper was fumbled. 
 
A lengthy delay took place after the end of the eighth over with Pagydyala appearing to struggle with dizziness and dehydration in 83F temperatures combined with heavy humidity coming off Lake Victoria. She lasted just a few more balls after play resumed, getting out in the ninth over playing an energy-sapped swipe across the line to be bowled for the first of four wickets taken by eventual Player of the Match Sarah Akiteng. 
 
Vaghela’s drama-filled time between the wickets came to an end three balls later when she could not survive a third runout chance as a relay from Malisa Ariokot to the keeper Iloku arrived in time to beat Vaghela’s dive to curtail her innings for 11 off 21 balls at 45 for 4 in the 10^th. Pooja Ganesh was runout for 8 on a relay from Mbabazi to Iloku to end the 11^th as USA were still ahead of the required run rate but rapidly running out of batters. 
 
Despite needing less than a run a ball, Singh tried to play her natural attacking game on a slow wicket and paid the price, slogging a catch to long-on for 1 to give Akiteng a second wicket at 63 for 6 in the 13^th. 
 
At this stage, USA’s hopes of completing the chase were pinned to Gargi Bhogle, who had entered at No. 6 and recovered from a slow start to keep the required run rate in check with two fours and a six. USA needed 23 off the final 22 balls to win when Bhogle fell trying to repeat her earlier six over midwicket and was well caught by Ariokot who took a superb catch running in stride for a top score of 23 to make it 81 for 7. Taranum Chopra then charged down the wicket first ball to a wider ball from Akiteng and was stumped to put the left-arm spinner on a hat-trick and one away from a five-wicket haul at 81 for 8. 
 
Needing 23 off 20 balls to win with only two wickets in hand, the tailend pair of Chudasama and Madhavan struggled to get the scoring going again after the fall of wickets, managing just one single off the next six balls. Including the wickets, it completed a sequence of one run off eight balls for USA as they needed 22 off the final 14 balls and eventually 13 off the final over. Though USA had fewer dot balls than Uganda overall, USA crucially had 23 dot balls out of 36 total deliveries from overs 13 through 18. In that same stretch, Uganda had just 14 dots. At a time when USA needed to accelerate, they were bogged down instead.
 
Needing 13 off the final over, Chudasama and Madhavan traded singles before Chudasama drove a four over extra cover to bring the equation down to 7 needed off three balls. A two was then followed by a miscued single which put Madhavan back on strike with four needed to win. A skied heave was spilled behind the bowler Mbabazi and the pair managed to complete two runs before the ball was relayed in to end play with USA still a run short of forcing a Super Over. Chudasama ended 17 not out off 16 balls, the only USA player after opener Kambalapalli to have a strike rate above 100. Madhavan ended 8 not out off 11. 
 
In addition to Akiteng’s match-winning spell of 4 for 16, Irene ended with figures of 3 for 9 off her three overs. Nakisuuyi was also superb in conceding just 15 runs off four overs. 
 
USA returns to action on Friday when they face Uganda A at Entebbe Oval.