The end of one fairytale can often be just the beginning of another glorious story, as was the hope for Uganda when they took the field in Guyana on Guyanaa. Playing their first-ever World Cup game, the African unit was put under the pump early but recovered brilliantly to restrict Afghanistan.
Cricketing history was made in the Caribbean islands on Tuesday as Uganda became the latest African nation to take part in a cricket World Cup, having made history earlier by eliminating full-member Zimbabwe in the qualifying pathway. However, the Cranes were against a stern challenge against fellow underdogs Afghanistan who have undergone a similar journey from being write-offs to genuine dark horses and potential contenders for a top-four finish over the past decade. As expected, the Asian outfit came out on top in the early exchanges but was pegged back brilliantly by a spirited fightback from their rivals.
The opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaaz and Ibrahim Zadran got Afghanistan off to a flying start as the side raced away to 66/0 in the powerplay. The former was particularly lethal with his range of expansive attacking shots and brought up a 28-ball half-century shortly after the team reached three figures at the halfway mark. Zadran got to his own fifty off 34 deliveries and the duo looked set to take the team well past 200 with the death overs to come. However, Ugandan skipper Brian Masaba spoiled the party by disturbing Zadran’s stumps in the 15th over with the score reading 154, followed by Gurbaaz holing out off Alpesh Ramjani’s bowling four balls later. The next two overs further brought the scalps of Najibullah Zadran and Gulbadin Naib respectively, leading to a drastic decrease in the scoring rate. Eventually, the last six overs were worth a paltry 31 runs at the cost of five wickets, thus restricting Afghanistan to a gettable 183/5.
Twitterati was all praise for the resilience showcased by the World Cup’s newest member and took to social media to express the same.
Big breakthrough!
Gone
— Jackson Hernandez (@JHernandez9286) June 4, 2024
Tough context
But uganda https://t.co/EVGTbhdJ5T— Cover drive (@Viratkafan23) June 4, 2024
So close to the record
Highest opening partnerships in T20WC:
170* – Alex Hales & Jos Buttler 🏴 vs IND 🇮🇳, Adelaide 2022
154 – Rahmanullah Gurbaz & Ibrahim Zadran 🇦🇫 vs UGA 🇺🇬, Providence 2024*
152* – Babar Azam & Mohammad Rizwan 🇵🇰 vs IND 🇮🇳, Dubai 2021#T20WorldCup #AFGvUGA— The Stats Kid (@TheStatsKid1523) June 4, 2024
Well played
Well played Gurbaz and Ibrahim. After that They didn’t hit a single boundary .. 😱 Thanks to Najeeb zadran 😂 Rashid thought Najeeb will score against small team so I keep him in squad throughout the tournament. For friendship 🤝@ACBofficials give Sadiq atal a chance
— Javed Zadran 🇦🇫 (@Zadran10Javed) June 4, 2024
Two Afghan openers against Uganda! 💥
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran made good use of the opportunity!🙌🇦🇫
#T20WorldCup #Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/qANiLhiW2r— Raisul Rifat (@raisul_rifat88) June 4, 2024
Big achievement
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran made 4th highest Partnership in T20 World Cup and highest for Afghanistan – 154 runs pic.twitter.com/2TXzbBf3sv
— Sanjeev Harnandan (@SanjeevHrnandan) June 4, 2024
Stylish
A stylish 76 by Gurbaz put Afghanistan in a commanding position 😎
He stitched a 154-run opening stand with Zadran 🙌🏻#T20worldcup #AFGvUGH pic.twitter.com/6rFBOvQYDQ— cricket fans club (@Muhib8992) June 4, 2024
What a cameo between Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran! Honestly this was quite expected with the hype from this years Afghani squad. A partnership of 140+ runs and a 150.00+ strike rate. #AFGvsUGA
— Ali Raja 🇵🇰 (@AliRajaAU) June 4, 2024
A big one
Afghanistan have given a target of 184 runs to Uganda in their first match of T20 World Cup-2024.
Afghanistan: 183/5 (20)
Rahmanullah Gurbaz: 76 (45)
Ibrahim Zadran: 70 (46) pic.twitter.com/blUk2jDz5O— Kownok Ahmed Uthso (@IamUthso) June 4, 2024
That really did the damage!
Uganda needs 184 to win.
That opening partnership of 154 from Gurbaz Rahmanullah (76) and Ibrahim Zadran (70) did the damage but the Cricket Cranes fought back at the back end
Afghanistan posts 183/5 in 20 overs.#AFGvUGA #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/gaZj2JueNT— Brian Kawalya 🇺🇬 (@BrianKawalya1) June 4, 2024
