Uganda’s Historic Win: A Triumph in T20 World Cup
Uganda’s bowlers, led by Riazat Ali Shah, clinched their first-ever win in T20 World Cup history by defeating Papua New Guinea (PNG).
Despite PNG’s bowlers offering a glimmer of hope after their team recorded their lowest T20I score, Uganda maintained their composure to secure a thrilling three-wicket win.
Papua New Guinea 77 (Hiri 15, Nsubuga 2-4, Miyagi 2-10) lost to Uganda 78 for 7 (Riazat 33, Miyagi 13, Nao 2-16) by three wickets.
Uganda achieved their first-ever victory at the T20 World Cup with a hard-fought three-wicket victory on a difficult pitch. In a low-scoring match in Guyana, where both sides were vying for their first victory of the tournament, they defeated Papua New Guinea (PNG). After being called to bat, PNG’s batting collapsed to 77 all out before Uganda, who were also struggling at 26 for 5, managed to reach home in the 19th over.
One of Uganda’s rising stars, Riazat Ali Shah, guided them through the challenging chase with a low backlift in his cautious 33 off 56, finishing just three runs short of Uganda’s objective. In addition to their dismal batting performance, PNG was left to lament their second-highest contribution on the scorecard: 15 wides.
The opening innings bowling of Uganda, led by Frank Nsubuga (43), and Juma Miyagi (21), was the highlight of the match.
Both proved why they should be in this match with outstanding spells. With stats of 4-2-4-2, Nsubuga bowled the most economical stint (minimum four overs) in the history of the Twenty20 World Cup. In addition, he followed Ajantha Mendis in 2012 as the only bowler to bowl 20 dot balls in a T20 World Cup match.
When left-hander Assad Vala batted back to the left-arm spinner, who angled the ball from around the wicket and on to the stumps, Alpesh Ramjani awarded Uganda a wicket on the second ball. Next, Miyagi and Cosmas Kyewuta used their pace to keep PNG behind.
Sese Bau, a left-hand hitter, was unable to clear Miyagi over mid-off, allowing Roger Mukasa to make a diving catch in reverse. Then, Tony Ura—PNG’s top run scorer in T20Is—also holed out to Mukasa, giving Kyewuta the big one. Playing out of position against the two fast bowlers, Lega Siaka attempted to score another run but was run out for 12 in the seventh over.
Nsubuga became the second-oldest bowler to take a wicket in the T20 World Cup when he sneaked one past Charles Amini’s leg stump in the eleventh over. Then, Nsubuga had Hiri Hiri leg before wicket, even though it appeared at first that the batsman had moved too far down the wicket. However, Uganda was given the benefit of the doubt.
Another wicket for Ramjani occurred when he trapped Kiplin Doriga lbw for twelve. After after, Captain Brian Masaba entered the game with a topspinner that got past Chad Soper’s defense. With five balls left to spare, PNG was bowled out by Miyagi and Kyewuta, who claimed the final two wickets.
Also Read: Australia’s Dominating Victory over Oman in T20 World Cup; All-rounder Marcus Stoinis Shines
Alei Nao gave PNG the exact same start by dismissing Mukasa for a second consecutive duck in the first over. Robinson Obuya then holed out to mid-on, where Vala didn’t have to move to complete the catch, and was removed by Norman Vanua.
After that, Nao had Simon Ssesazi leg before wicket in the third over, bringing PNG to a dangerous 6 for 3. Then, in an attempt to rescue Uganda, Ramjani and Riazat struck a fine boundary through the off side. However, in the sixth over, Soper managed to get a seam-up delivery to scissor past Ramjani. PNG took the lead as captain Vala trapped and bowled Dinesh Nakrani.
Amini dropped Riazat on eight when Uganda was 35 for 5. After Riazat had made a mistake, it was a straightforward opportunity at point, but it proved to be the pivotal moment in Uganda’s pursuit. With a lovely cover drive against Vala in the eleventh over, Riazat scored his lone boundary.
Along with Miyagi, he scored 35 runs for the sixth wicket, however in the 14th over, a miscommunication led to Miyagi’s dismissal. Despite being fired, Riazat remained composed, even while PNG continued to support Uganda. Even though Riazat eventually fell in the 18th over, Bau dismissed Kenneth Waiswa on 4. Although it was a little too late for PNG, John Kariko made a nice catch at deep third.
