The Cricket Cranes suffered a disappointing 17-run defeat against Bahrain in the first T20I of the three-match series at Jinja Senior Secondary School Oval on Monday afternoon.
Despite a valiant batting effort from Raghav Dhawan (27 runs) and Obuya Robinson (20 runs), Uganda faltered in their chase of Bahrain’s modest total of 97 runs.
Bahrain opted to bat first after winning the toss, but their innings got off to a shaky start as they lost wickets consistently.
Openers Muhammad Rizwan Butt and Ali Dawood provided some early momentum with a 17-run partnership before Uganda clawed their way back into the game.
Spinners Haider Ali and Imran Javed Anwer impressed with three wickets each, restricting Bahrain to a below-par score.
Uganda’s chase began brightly with Obuya and Raghav stitching together a 41-run partnership for the first wicket.
However, the dismissal of both openers triggered a collapse as wickets fell at regular intervals.
The middle order failed to capitalize on the early momentum, with only Kenneth Waiswa (7* runs) and Juma Miyagi (6 runs) offering any resistance.
Uganda eventually fell short of the target, managing only 80 runs in their allotted overs.
The series continues with the second T20I scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, at the same venue.
Uganda will be looking to bounce back and level the series, while Bahrain will aim to consolidate their lead.
