GEORGETOWN: Afghanistan crushed debutants Uganda by 125 runs on Monday at the T20 World Cup in Guyana thanks to a strong bowling and batting display.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, the opening pair for Afghanistan, set the tone for the victory with a 154 opening partnership in their 183-5 total.
As Uganda was routed for 58 in 16 overs, left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi shined with five wickets for only nine runs.
“As a team, we achieved the kind of start we were hoping for,” stated Afghanistan’s captain Rashid Khan. “The mindset is what matters, not who we play. Our squad worked really well together, as evidenced by the effort we have put in over the past several weeks, the manner the openers performed, and the bowlers’ performances.
Gurbaz’s 76 from 45 balls, which featured four fours and four sixes, had Afghanistan looking set for a huge total. Zadran was hitting 70 off 46 deliveries, including nine fours and a six, in similarly daring fashion.
The only partnership to surpass Gurbaz and Zadran’s opening performance in the men’s T20 World Cup history was the 170 shared by England’s Jos Buttler and Alex Hales in 2022.
But Uganda was able to retake Afghanistan when Gurbaz and Zadran collapsed in the space of four balls. After capturing his nation’s first-ever World Cup wicket, Masaba made cricket history for East Africa by dismissing Zadran in the 15th over, leaving the score at 154-1.
After that, Alpesh Ramjani took out Gurbaz, who Riazat Ali Shah caught at deep square leg for 76.
Masaba took his second wicket, dismissing Najibullah Zadran after Dinesh Nakrani caught him at deep square leg.
Two more wickets were taken by Cosmas Kyewuta.
Farooqi destroyed any chances that Uganda’s bowling comeback would continue into their innings in the opening over.
Following a four-ball boundary from Ugandan opener Ronak Patel off the first ball bowled by Farooqi, the Afghan bowler responded by taking two wickets in his next two deliveries, including Patel and Roger Mukasa, leaving the Africans behind 4-2.
Uganda fell at 8-3 when Mujeeb Ur Rahman had Simon Ssesazi caught by Farooqi off a top edge for four.
With the wickets falling steadily, Uganda was soon 18-5 in the fifth over.
After taking Masaba and Robinson Obuya wickets, both of whom were caught behind, Fazalhaq finished with five wickets. Rashid, the captain, then mopped up the tail end by removing Hendry Ssenyondo and dismissing Bilal Hassan leg before wicket.
Despite the crushing loss, Uganda’s captain Masaba saw some bright spots from his team’s T20 World Cup debut.
Hearing our national anthem and seeing our flag at the World Cup was a “pretty special moment for us,” Masaba remarked. Something that I will always treasure.
“Very nervous for the World Cup opening game. It’s good to get that resolved. We intend to improve upon our performance in the upcoming game.
