Uganda’s national cricket team on Saturday, November 20, beat Kenya by six wickets to secure a ticket to the ICC T20 World Cup  Qualifiers.

 The Kenyans went into Saturday decider at Gahanga International Stadium as favorites having beaten Uganda in their opening fixture.

The Ugandans, however got revenge with a convincing win over Kenya by six wickets, a result achieved with eight balls to spare, despite playing the game in the absence of their head coach Lawrence Mahatlane and his assistant on the touchline due to illness.

It was Kenya who won the toss and chose to field first, posting 123/3 in the first innings, a score that looked quite possible for the Ugandans to surpass.

They, however, found themselves in much trouble when the umpire called for a break as it rained at the oval by the time Uganda were behind Kenya after 15 overs, but luck went by their side when both sides returned to the ground only for Uganda to end the encounter the better side before a small number of cheering supporters at the stadium.

The victory not meant that they booked a ticket to the ICC T20 World Cup Global Qualifiers but also a dedication to their coaches as pointed out by skipper Brian Masaba.

"They could not come to the ground, they are at the hospital, in a morning chat, we said we were going to do this for them because they sacrificed a lot for the team and that was an extra motivation for us today. They are the reasons we came this far,” Masaba said after the game.  

Riazat Ali Shah put up a man of the match performance to inspire the Ugandan side to a dream spot to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Global Qualifier slated in February next year.