Afghanistan defeated Uganda by 125 runs in Guyana because to a remarkable opening partnership and five wickets from Fazalhaq Farooqi.
The toss was won by Uganda, who decided to field
Afghanistan got off to a brilliant start when Fazalhaq Farooqi dismissed Ronak Patel (4) and Roger Mukasa (0) in consecutive deliveries. While Riazat Ali Shah narrowly avoided a hat-trick, Afghanistan secured their third wicket when Mujeeb Ur Rahman bowled Simon Ssezai for four.
Uganda was in terrible shape at 18/5 when Naveen-ul-Haq, the third bowler to be introduced in the match, took two wickets in his opening over.
For a short while, a standoff between Robinson Obuya and Riazat Ali seemed to level the playing field, but Farooqi came back to land more hits and solidify Afghanistan’s lead. Rashid Khan, the captain, delivered the final blows, while Farooqi concluded with 5/9.
Because of his incredible performance, Farooqi was chosen Player of the Match. In a Men’s T20 World Cup, his stats were the fourth best.
Afghanistan scores strongly thanks to a mammoth opening stand.
After winning the toss, Brian Masaba chose to bowl first. Masaba desired to limit Afghanistan to a figure that could be pursued.
The opening batsmen from Afghanistan quickly got going, capitalizing on favorable batting circumstances in which the ball was hitting the bat and the outfield was solid. Uganda’s lack of discipline in the field contributed to the increased number from Afghanistan. Gurbaz got off to a quick start, but Zadran quickly caught up after hitting four consecutive fours in the sixth over. By the end of the first powerplay, Afghanistan was scoring at a rate of 11 runs per over.
Gurbaz and Zadran continued to hammer home boundaries while Ugandan bowlers struggled to contain hitters. With four sixes and two fours in the ninth over, Gurbaz reached his fifty, a first for him in the Twenty20 World Cup.
By the tenth over, Afghanistan had already scored more than 100 runs. Afghanistan overran 150 thanks to a thrilling 25-run over from Bilal Shah, which featured five balls out of the bag and five wides. In the end, it was Brian Masaba who secured Uganda’s first wicket in the match by taking one low and destroying Ibrahim Zadran.
Masaba and seasoned adjuster Alpesh Ramjani then picked two more over the next few overs to destroy the Afghanistan top-order. With just three wickets lost for 22 runs in the last four overs, the Cricket Cranes performed admirably in the closing stages of the game.
