The national men’s cricket team on Tuesday, October 19, bounced back from their disappointing run of results after tasting their first and only win in the past three games at the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 Sub regional Group A World Cup Qualifiers, when they defeated Seychelles by 78 runs in a game that was interrupted by downpour. The win marked the end of the hosts’ losing streak at the qualifiers following two shock defeats to Ghana and Uganda. It was Rwanda who won the toss and chose to bat first as Orchide Tuyisenge put in a man of the match performance to help Martin Suji’s boys score 196 runs after 20 overs. Seychelles were made to wait for a few minutes to clear the runs recorded by their opponents after the two teams were forced to walk off the pitch after the first innings as it started raining at Gahanga Cricket Stadium. As they returned, Seychelles, who needed 197 runs to win the game, managed just 23 after 9 overs before officials decided to stop the game as the the rain persisted. As a result, Rwanda won the game by 78 runs as per the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern (D/L) method. The Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method is a mathematical formulation designed to calculate the target score for the team batting second in a limited overs cricket match interrupted by weather or other circumstances. The win saw Rwanda climb to third place finish on the table with two points, six behind Ghana and table leaders Uganda who have so far won four consecutive games, after two wins against Lesotho by 10 wickets and Swaziland by 6 wickets in both fixtures held at IPRC Kigali Oval. Martin Suji’s men will need a miracle to happen and see both Uganda and Ghana lose their remaining two games if the hosts are to stand a chance to keep their hopes of qualifying to next year’s World Cup alive. Otherwise, any results for Rwanda against Lesotho on Wednesday, October 20, at IPRC Kigali Oval will add no value should either Ghana or Uganda win at least one game in the qualifying campaign.
