Cricket Cranes’ pace bowler Bilal Hassan won the Player of the Match award after Uganda beating Botswana by 6 wickets in their opening game at the Continental Cup T20-Africa, but the person who left a lasting mark at the Gymkhana Cricket Ground was Roger Mukasa.
Mukasa, a former cricket cranes captain went into this game as Uganda’s leading run scorer in all formats with 3493 runs; he took that tally a notch higher, hitting the 3500 mark.
He achieved that mark with the sixth ball he faced against Botswana, and to make it even more special, the milestone arrived off a boundary.
‘Papa’ as his nickname goes went on to score more runs, and by the time he was picked in the fourth Over, his record had stretched to 3534 runs.
“It was really simple for me. I followed the instructions of the team to do my role. My role is to make very good use of the first six Overs.” Mukasa said after the game.
Gymkhana is a wicket best known for favouring batters. After banging four 4s and three 6s, the 34-year-old attested to the above.
He said; “The wicket was so good to bat on. I just backed myself and trusted my skills. When the ball was on my zone, I’d just take on the bowlers.”
Mukasa’s total of 41 was the second highest score in the game only bettered by the 45 from Botswana captain Karabo Mothlanka.
The batter can only look forward to stretching his record even more, and he will get that opportunity tomorrow when Uganda plays Kenya in their second game.
The two sides both won their opening games, with Kenya beating Rwanda by 3 wickets in the tournament opener.
