UGANDA did not need a big score to win the Victoria Series final, they just needed their bowlers to make every run feel difficult.
That is exactly what happened as the hosts defended 94 for 8 to beat Rwanda by 19 runs at Entebbe Cricket Ground and lift the 2026 title.
At the halfway mark, the match still felt wide open. Uganda had battled their way to 94 for eight on a surface that never allowed batters to settle, but it was hardly the kind of total that puts a final beyond reach.
The innings revolved around a valuable 45-run partnership between Stephanie Nampiina and Proscovia Alako after captain Janet Mbabazi fell early for eight. Alako looked the more assured batter, finding the boundary three times on her way to 27 from 25 balls, while Nampiina dug in for a patient 27 off 47 deliveries.
For a while, that stand gave Uganda some breathing room. Then Rwanda hit back.
With Uganda sitting on 62 for one, Diane Marie Bimenyimana turned the game on its head. The Rwanda captain finished with four for 19 and sparked a wobble that saw Uganda slip to 66 for four. Suddenly, what had looked like a platform became a scramble for runs.
Uganda never really got away after that, but they kept finding a few runs here and there and eventually dragged themselves to 94. It did not look like much, but on this pitch it felt like it might just be enough.
Rwanda’s chase started promisingly enough. Fanny Utagushimaninde and Gisele Ishimwe added 25 for the opening wicket, which ultimately proved to be the highest partnership of the innings. When Mbabazi removed Fanny for 16 with the last ball of the sixth over, however, the chase began to stall.
That was less about wickets and more about pressure.
Uganda’s bowlers rarely offered easy scoring opportunities. Singles became hard-earned, boundaries almost disappeared and the required rate, while never alarming, kept inching upwards. Gisele battled for 13 from 34 balls and Clarisse Umutoniwase added 13 from 19, but Rwanda could never find the innings that would pull them ahead of the game.
The key moment came in the 14th over. With Rwanda still in the contest at 47 for 3, Asumin Akurut struck twice to remove Henriette Therese Ishimwe and Clarisse Umutoniwase, leaving the visitors 50 for 5. From there, Uganda sensed the finish line.
Consylate Aweko Nimungu then produced the spell that put the trophy beyond doubt. Her four overs cost just nine runs and brought two wickets, including the dismissal of Rwanda captain Bimenyimana for a duck. Akurut finished with 3 for 11, Mbabazi claimed two for 13 and Rwanda closed on 75 for nine, still needing 20 runs when the innings ended.
In truth, the final felt like a snapshot of Uganda’s entire campaign.
They were not the tournament’s most explosive batting side, and even in the final they left runs out in the middle. What they consistently did well was stay in the game. Their bowling attack kept asking questions, their fielders backed them up and they were prepared to win ugly when conditions demanded it.
For Rwanda, there is still plenty to take from the tournament. Their bowlers once again showed they can compete against the strongest sides in the region, and Bimenyimana’s four-wicket haul nearly tilted the final in their favour. The missing piece was a substantial innings in the chase. Several batters got starts, but none pushed beyond Fanny’s 16, and that left too much work for the lower order.
Uganda’s success, meanwhile, rested on a bowling unit that kept delivering when the pressure rose. Nimungu, Asumin Akurut and captain Mbabazi were central figures throughout the final, and together they turned a defendable score into a winning one.
