Cricket Cranes opening batsman Robinson Obuya fired Uganda into the ILT20 Continent Cup final at Gahanga International Cricket Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
The day belonged to Obuya, who produced one of the finest individual performances of his T20I career as Uganda defeated Rwanda by 72 runs.
He struck an unbeaten 118 from 70 balls, including eight fours and eight sixes, to become only the second Ugandan batsman to score a T20I century after left-hander Simon Ssesazi.
“I’m very grateful for having gotten my maiden T20 century for the Cricket Cranes. The wicket was bringing the ball nicely and I just kept believing in my abilities to take the team through to the 20th over.”
The milestone was even more significant as Obuya crossed 1,000 career T20I runs during his landmark innings. His 118 took his career tally to 1,045 T20I runs, making him the fifth Ugandan batsman to reach the 1,000-run mark after Ssesazi, captain Riazat Ali Shah, legendary Roger Mukasa, and all-rounder Dinesh Nakrani.
Obuya reached the landmark in his 48th T20I and 46th innings, three years after making his international debut against Rwanda at Nairobi Gymkhana on June 11, 2023. His career T20I figures now include 1,045 runs, six fifties, one century, 91 fours, and 51 sixes.
“Looking back at the previous games, fine, we’ve been doing well, but looking at the wicket column, it was not so pleasing. But today we managed to pace our innings properly and the wicket column was well maintained. And yeah, I’m grateful that we managed to do it as a collective,” Obuya added.
Uganda posted 188 for two after winning the toss and electing to bat before restricting Rwanda to 116 for nine in their 20 overs to register their sixth victory in seven matches.
The result takes Uganda to 12 points, securing their place in the top two alongside Kenya (14). The two sides will meet in Friday’s final round-robin fixture before renewing their rivalry in Saturday’s final.
Obuya received excellent support from Gerald Olipa, who celebrated his 20th birthday in style with an unbeaten 35 runs from 19 deliveries.
Olipa struck two fours and three sixes at a strike rate of 184.21 to provide the late acceleration that pushed Uganda to 188 for two.
Anas Baig contributed 19 from 18 balls, while Charles Musemeza made nine as Uganda put a defendable score on the board. With the ball, Juma Miyagi set the tone with two wickets for eight runs from three overs.
Fellow pace bowler Cosmas Kyewuta claimed three for 32 from four overs, while left-arm spinner Matthew Musinguzi added one wicket for 17 runs, and off-spinner Joseph Baguma completed an excellent spell with three for 22.
