Cricket Cranes Set a National Record and Win Their First Three in Kigali

Uganda have won their first three matches of the ILT20 Continent Cup title defence in Kigali, and set a national record along the way with 250 for three against Sierra Leone.

The Cricket Cranes opened with a win by 114 runs over Sierra Leone at the Gahanga Cricket Stadium in Kigali. Their 250 for three is the highest total Uganda have made in a men’s T20 international, passing the 229 they set in December 2024. Charles Musemeza made 89 and Gerald Olipa finished on 83 not out from 34 balls.

Botswana and Rwanda follow

Botswana were beaten next. Rwanda then lost by 64 runs at the same ground, Uganda posting 198 for nine and bowling the hosts out for 134 inside nineteen overs.

Anas Mirza Baig made 66 from 36 balls against Rwanda after being dismissed cheaply in the first two matches. Olipa added 45.

A third title is the target

Uganda have won the last two editions of the Continent Cup, in Nairobi in 2023 and in Kigali in 2024, and arrived in Rwanda as holders. Kenya, also unbeaten through the opening matches, were the next opponents as the first round reached its close.

The tournament matters beyond the trophy. It is the regular competitive cricket Uganda get between ICC pathway events, and it is where a squad that has just reached ODI status gets to settle.

The Continent Cup is played as a round robin, with the opening matches at the Gahanga Cricket Stadium oval and the later ones on the main ground. Sierra Leone, Botswana, Rwanda and Kenya have all been on Uganda’s schedule in the first round, which is a wider spread of African opposition than the Cricket Cranes usually get in a single week.

The 250 for three is the number that will last. Uganda’s previous best men’s T20 international total, 229, had stood since December 2024, and beating it by twenty one runs in the first match of a title defence sets a marker for the rest of the tournament.

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