Samal slams Strongroom
Gahanga Stadium, Kigali, 2/29/2020
Rwanda XI won by 9 wickets
Strongroom: 89-9 [V.Pankaj 5-15]
Rwanda XI: 90-1 [S.Samal 54*]
View the Scorecard
And so we made what was our final bus journey to the Gahanga stadium for this T20 against Rwanda XI. David Gower had departed for London the previous evening, and Andy Orme was also absent, finalising arrangements with his tailor for the creation of his flambouyant suit. To replace these two veterans, we recruited two locals in the form of tall Bryson and less tall, teenager Ivan. It was a cracking day, with an expansive blue sky and lovely temperature. David P uncharacteristically won the toss, and we were underway.
It was immediately clear that Mitch was in awesome touch. His shots had that crispness about them, and he laced a few sumptuous boundaries before he was very surprisingly given caught behind off a grubby, leg-side strangle. We were gutted - because it didn’t look out, Mitch (14) was looking sublime, and with his dismissal we lost the best chance of making this a competitive encounter for the opposition. But sometimes, that’s how cricket is. And so suddenly, we were 27-5 and in all sorts of trouble. Aside from Mitch, only Vinay with a lovely cameo of 24 and Bryson (13) got into double figures, in what was a very sorry looking scorecard of 89 all out. For Rwanda XI, seamer Pankaj was again superb (5-15), bowling intelligently with subtle movement and control. Leg-spinner Kevin Irazkoze and off-spinner Eric Niyomugabo were again excellent.
After our final lunch, we were out on the field again to defend 89. We got off to a great start with Bryson taking a wicket with his first ball. However, that was to prove our only wicket of the innings! Rwanda XI were simply too good, and they smashed their to victory in 11.1 overs. This was a harsh lesson for us to absorb. Subassar Samal hammered 54*, and was particularly brutal against Joe, launching him for two enormous sixes onto the surrounding grassy bank. Tim dropped a catch he would normally have taken, and Arif again bowled with great heart but with no reward.
This was a sad cricketing end to what had otherwise been a great tour. After the game we took part in a hitting competition on the outfield, which Mitch duly won. As the sun cast longer shadows there were nice scenes at the Gahanga with impromptu kids’ games on the outfield, and we gathered for a presentation ceremony and speeches in front of the pavilion. Fine words were said from both sides, and this made for a fitting conclusion to what had been a golden experience all round.
Written By: J.Gower
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