Uganda won the toss and opt to bowl
From 154 for no loss in the 15th over to ending with just 183, this has been a mighty good comeback from Uganda. They were put to the sword in the powerplay, as Gurbaz got a six second ball off the innings. His partner Ibrahim Zadran also looked solid, as he hit Bilal Hasan for four consecutive boundaries at one point. Afghanistan ended the powerplay with 66 runs and crossed 100 within 10 overs, as both openers got fifties. They played fairly risk free cricket, giving no chances to the opposition throughout their innings while keeping the run rate up. Uganda captain Masaba finally provided the breakthrough as Zadran was knocked over trying a big shot, and that wicket sparked a comeback for the African side. They got four wickets in four overs, as Gurbaz was out next over, while Naib and Najibullah Zadran were dismissed for single figures. Afghanistan could only muster 27 runs in the last five overs, and they will walk back a bit disappointed because 200+ was surely on the cards at one stage. Nevertheless, this is a sluggish track and these runs should be enough for two points.
Afghanistan have outclassed Uganda quite easily. It was Gurbaz who took the attack to them early with the bat in powerplay. It gave time for his partner Ibrahim to get going and the duo motored along nicely for a 150+ stand. Uganda picked up wickets towards the end but anything over 150 with Afghanistan’s spin and pace quality was always going to be difficult for Uganda even with dew setting in very early. Farooqi killed their mood with wickets off successive balls in his very first over. Mujeeb got one next over and Naveen came on for a double-strike. The innings was pretty sedate for a while until Farooqi came back to be on a hat-trick once again in the game. He did pick up three wickets in the same over to record his maiden fifer and Rashid Khan cleaned up the tail after a few minutes.
Fazalhaq Farooqi | Player of the Match: Congratulations to all Afghan fans on the victory. (On missing hat-trick) I have missed a hat-trick 7-8 times in my career. It’s not something in my control but I will try better in the future. (Plans today) I tried to bowl into the wicket and see what happens. It swung from the beginning and later on I tried to bowl slower since it wasn’t coming onto the bat that nicely. Playing franchise cricket surely helps. When you play big games with big players, it helps you coming into a tournament like this. (Translated from Pashto)
Brian Masaba | Uganda captain: Special moment to hear our national anthem and see our flag at the World Cup. It’s a moment that I will cherish for the rest of my life. They got a pretty good start. It was about fighting back and I thought we pulled it back pretty well at the end with the ball. Credit to them for playing well. One of the top bowling sides. Good seamers and quality spinners. We will look to bounce back better against PNG.
Afghanistan have done themselves a great favour by upping their NRR should it come down to that for semi-final qualification. Dew was evident today but it hardly mattered to Rashid and Co. who bowled beautifully. Barbados gave a Super Over yesterday. The action shifts to Barbados again as England and Scotland kick-off their campaign in a few hours time. Can defending champs get off to a great start like Afghanistan or do Scotland have an upset plan?