PROVIDENCE, Guyana (AP) — Brian Masaba’s Uganda side cruised to a three-wicket victory in a low-scoring thriller against Papua New Guinea on Wednesday for their first World Twenty20 win.
They then lined the boundary rope and bowed to acknowledge the cricket fans who traveled from Africa to the Caribbean to support them.
Uganda bowled PNG out for 77 but struggled to chase down the low target. The first three wickets fell in 2.1 overs and they had already lost half their wickets when they slumped to 26-5 in the seventh over.
Riyaz Ali Shah (33) and Juma Miyagi (13) steadied the innings with a 35-run sixth-wicket partnership and set Uganda on course for victory with 10 balls and three wickets to spare in their second game in a T20 Cricket World Cup .
“The first World Cup win – it doesn’t get more special than that,” Masaba said. “I’m very proud of this group, the job they’ve done. To win their country a World Cup, it’s very special.”
Masaba’s side cruised through the African qualifiers and reached the 20-team world tournament at the expense of Zimbabwe, a long-time full member of the International Cricket Council.
“It was three or four years of very hard work,” Masaba said. “Getting to the World Cup was special, but this is more than that.”
Alpesh Ramjani, Cosmas Kyewuta, Miyagi and 43-year-old offspinner Frank Nsubuga each took two wickets in a tidy team bowling effort for Uganda.
It started with Ramjani taking a wicket on the second ball of the match, trapping PNG skipper Assad Vala leg before wicket. Nsubuga applied late pressure with figures of 2-4 from four overs.
“Super proud of the bowling unit,” Masaba said. “They set up the game for us.”
T20 cricket tends to be more about the winners than the bowlers, with the field restricted for the first six overs of each over in so-called power plays. But uneven two-pace pitches so far in the tournament and wet conditions have produced eight totals below 100 in the first nine games.
After being dismissed for 58 in a 125-run defeat by Afghanistan on their T20 World Cup debut, Uganda knew that chasing 78 would not be as simple as it looked on paper.
The reply started with a side before Alei Nao trapped Roger Mukasa lbw.
The second over started with a pair of wides before Norman Vanua dismissed Robinson Obuya.
Nao struck on the first ball of the third over when he bowled Simon Ssesazi outside the crease, and Uganda wasted a referral to the TV umpire reviewing it. It was 6-3 at that stage and the situation looked dire.
Three balls later, Riazat took an inside edge that bounced over his stumps, lucky to avoid a dismissal that would have put Uganda at 8-4.
When Chad Soper bowled Ramjani in the sixth over Uganda were struggling at 25-4 at the end of the powerplay. PNG were 33-3 at the same stage.
And when Vala caught and bowled Dinesh Nakrani (0) soon after, suddenly Uganda were 26-5 and PNG appeared on course to set a record for the lowest total successfully defended in a T20 World Cup.
Riazat got another reprieve when Charles Amini missed a set-up chance off the bowling of Soper in the ninth over. The total was 35-5 and another wicket would have almost ended Uganda’s chances.
But Riazat and Miyaga dug in to save the innings and their momentum-changing partnership ended in a stalemate with Uganda needing just 17 runs from 38 balls to win.
Riazat almost got them there, his 56-ball innings finally ended when he took a lead and was run out against Uganda just three runs short of victory.
“When you’re three early, you’re chasing a low score … it was a real scrap out there,” Masaba said. “Every run they scored was very important to us.”
Just as important as support, he added.
“We have a dedicated group of fans who travel all over the world to support us. I don’t think they came here expecting a World Cup win, but that’s the least we can do for them,” he said. “I hope they feel as special as we do.”
And with fans watching the games on TV in the previous hours back in Uganda, Masaba recognized the boost he gave his team.
“It’s not easy,” he said. “We welcome them and appreciate them.”
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