The Women’s Day Cup 2025 picked up from where it paused on Monday with decent and entertaining cricket at Entebbe Oval from the four teams vying for ranking points at this event. Namibia took on Nepal in the morning and Uganda faced Hong Kong China in the afternoon on Day One of Round Two. Unlike Monday, the weather was favourable for play from the start to the end of the day. Temperatures in Entebbe remained between 26 and 28 degrees Celsius for most of the day, with clear skies and a refreshing breeze. The day was not too hot or too cold, just good enough for a good game of cricket. Namibia back to winning ways as Nepal suffers 3rd loss Namibia and Nepal took to the stage first, with Nepal winning the toss and choosing to bowl first, a decision that started things well for them. Ishwori Bist dismissed Namibia’s openers captain Suné Wittmann 15(12) and Kayleen Ann Green 8(6) in the first 4 overs; though the two of them had already kicked started Namibia to a decent place with the score at 33 runs from 20 deliveries. From then on, Namibia took the driver’s seat doing the most to put runs on the board, their game-changing performance coming in the last six overs where they picked up 37 runs. Yasmeen Khan 45(44), Wilka Mwatile 20(23) and Arrasta Diergaardt 16(12) contributed the most to the team’s score of 125/8; other batters fell before making a significant impact on the score. The Namibians were also gifted 11 runs for the extras (b 7, lb 1, w 1, nb 2). However, that doesn’t negate the bowling effort from the Nepalese that was led by Ishwori Bist 3/40, Rachana Kumari Chaudhary 2/9, Captain Indu Barma and Riya Sharma each picking a wicket. The second innings would have been for the Nepalese to make good on their toss win as they chased down the score for a win; however, the side was hit with an early blow of an early wicket of opener Samjhana Khadka 2(7) that shook up their batting line up. But that did not derail the side from pushing on for the rest of the overs to get past the set target; Sana Praveen 31(37), Kabita Joshi 17(19) not out, Puja Mahato 15 (14), and Indu Barma 15 (15) making the most with the bat to go past the line but the game came down to the tactical bowling and fielding of the Namibians who held the Nepalese batters hostage denying them opportunities to score easy runs. Eveleen Kejarukua’s 2 wickets (2/11) and a wicket from Saima Tuhadeleni, Mekelaye Mwatile and Wilka Mwatile sealed the deal for the Capricorn Eagles to get victory. Final Score: Namibia 125/8, Nepal 102/5; Namibia won by 23 Runs Victoria Pearls squander big advantage as Hong Kong China go top In the afternoon, Ugandan fans were left in awe and/or with a bitter taste in their mouth after they watched the Victoria Pearls lose a game they had in control. The pearls won the toss and elected to bat first, a choice that paid off because compared to their first-round performance; this time the batters came out with their heads up high and showed off their abilities with a lot of intent, tactic, awareness and clean execution but of course not without unsatisfactory moments. Captain Janet Mbabazi and Immaculate Nakisuuyi opened the batting and Mbabazi started with a boundary that sent the dugout into excitement. However, the excitement was short-lived as the skipper was dismissed in the 4th over with 9 runs from 12 balls. Nakisuuyi 19 (30) stayed on the crease for a while longer to contribute to the score but it was the 50-run partnership Rita Musamali 26(28) and birthday girl Stephanie Nampiina 32 (30) [not out] and additional runs from big hitter Proscovia Alako 11(9) that made a difference for the team, getting Uganda to 123/5 in their 20 overs, the highest score Uganda has had in this tournament. Uganda’s score would have been even higher but the cleaning bowling from Hong Kong China led by Siu Mei Wai 2/18, Chan Ka Ying 2/12, Joyleen Kaur 1/15 and Iqra Sahar (who bowled a maiden over) couldn’t allow the side to score freely. With 123 runs on the board, Uganda looked like the favourites to win this game, if only their defence lived up to par. Facing a win-hungry, determined, athletic and game-aware Hong Kong China, Uganda quickly realized that their defence would not be as easy as they expected. Hong Kong China batters knowing they were chasing a big total, kept taking every opportunity to put runs on the board; whether it was a risk run to get an extra single or a big hit in an unfielded space, the batters were doing it all for as many runs as they could get. Capt Natasha Miles 6(10) and Shanzeen Shahzad 33 (31) opened the batting for Hong Kong China but Miles was dismissed in the 4th Over leaving the battle for Shahzad, Mariko Hill 30 (34), Yasmin Daswani 17 (19) and Maryam Bibi 14 (11) who all made significant contributions to the total with an impressive 36 run partnership between Hill and Daswani. Uganda’s bowling was opened by youngster Irene Mutoni who got her debut against Namibia on Monday but the wicket-takers of the day were Sarah Akiteng 2/24 and Immaculate Nakisuuyi 1/15. The only thing that stood out in Uganda’s bowling innings was the abysmal performance that led to easy run conceding because of missed catches, poor fielding decisions and executions that put Uganda on the back foot for almost 90% of the game. In the 17th over Hog Kong China at 97/4, needing 27 runs from 24 balls, Uganda’s bowlers tried to bring back the game but against an aggressive Hong Kong China, the Pearls didn’t have a chance but did their best and took the game to the wire. Hong Kong China at 119/5 in the last over, needing 5 runs from 6 balls, death bowler Sarah Akiteng picked a first ball a wicket, the second ball went for 2 runs, the third ball a dot, the fourth ball wide and the last ball one run, Hong Kong China coming out victorious with 4 wickets and a ball to spare. Uganda could have forced a super over or even run out one of the batters but again the poor fielding decision and execution got the better of the side with an unexplainable fumble that cost them the game. The dismay on the faces of the Ugandan fans after the loss was clear. A loss so painful and one that could be determinantal to Uganda’s ranking leaves a lot of questions unanswered about the team and where it’s heading. Final Score: Uganda 123/5, Hong Kong China 124/6 in 19.5; Hong Kong China won by 4 Wickets Table standing With this loss, Uganda’s Victoria Pearls slide down to third place with 4 points and 0.1723 Net Run Rate. Hong Kong China goes up to first place with 6 points and -0.0852 NRR, Namibia comes in second at 4 points and 0.2464 NRR and Nepal in last place at 2 points and a -0.3341 NRR. The Series continues The second-round action continues on Thursday, 13th Mar 2025 at the Entebbe Oval with Hong Kong China taking on Namibia in the morning and Uganda taking on Nepal in the afternoon. The teams that finish in the top two go to the final as the bottom two play a placement game. Milestones Away from the appalling performance on the oval, three Victoria Pearls players got milestones today. Immaculate Nakisuyi and her captain Janet Mbabazi joined the club of the 1000+ career runs with Nakisuyi at 1017 runs now and Mbabazi at 1004 runs now. Youngster Irene Mutoni bowled her first spell with the senior side after making her debut in the previous game against Namibia. Who is Irene Mutoni? Mutoni a right arm medium pace bowler bowled first against Hong Kong China and bowled a total of 4 overs getting 12 dots, conceding 24 runs at 6.00 economy. Not bad for a youngster bowling her first spell with the senior side. Mutoni started playing cricket in 2021 under the coaching of Simon Kintu in Mukono Cricket Community when she was in senior one at St John’s SS Namuyenje as cricket was introduced there at her school. Since her mastering of the game, she has helped her school St John’s SS to qualify for the Nationals in 2022 and helped her school finish as runners-up in the first edition of the Deep End Schools tournament the same year. She has also played for St John’s SS Cricket Club in Division Two and in 2023 she was the Division Two best bowler and MVP.