Dusingizimana Eric Bids Farewell as Uganda Defeats Rwanda in ILT20 Continent Cup

Dusingizimana Eric, the man who set a world record in 2016 by playing cricket for 51 hours straight, has retired from Rwanda’s National Cricket Team. He said goodbye during Thursday’s match against Uganda in the “ILT20 Continent Cup” tournament.

Rwanda played Uganda at Gahanga International Stadium. Uganda won the match by 50 runs. Rwanda won the toss and chose to bowl first. Uganda scored 148 runs in 20 overs, losing six players.

Rwanda needed 149 runs to win. However, they only managed 98 runs in 20 overs. Uganda dismissed nine Rwandan players during the innings.

For Dusingizimana, this match marked the end of his 62-match career with the national team. The 37-year-old scored over 1,000 runs in his career, with his highest score being 66 runs against Seychelles.

“I’m not leaving cricket, just the national team,” Dusingizimana said. “I’ll still be playing at the club level.”

In the next match, Nigeria defeated Botswana by 10 wickets. The match was delayed due to heavy rain and was adjusted to 5 overs per side using the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method.

Botswana scored 49 runs in 5 overs, but Nigeria reached 51 runs in just 2.5 overs to win.
As of now, Uganda leads the tournament with 16 points. Nigeria and Rwanda are tied with 6 points, and Botswana has 4 points. The competition continues on Friday, December 13, with Uganda facing Botswana and Nigeria playing Rwanda.

The tournament is held in Gahanga until December 14, 2024, and contributes to the ICC monthly rankings. Uganda is ranked 22nd in the world, Nigeria 36th, Botswana 50th, and Rwanda 63rd.

Dusingizimana’s retirement marks the end of a chapter in Rwandan cricket. His legacy will inspire future players as the sport continues to grow in the country.