Fazalhaq Farooqi. (Photo Source: ICC)
There has been much noise around the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024 being hosted in the United States and West Indies, making it a historic ICC mega event. This gets only more exciting when new teams step into the centre stage, which glorifies the global expansion of the game of cricket. Newbies Uganda (UGA) took their first big step as they locked horns with Afghanistan (AFG) in match 5 of the World Cup in Guyana.
The game kicked off with Uganda winning the toss in their maiden World Cup fixture and a spirited Captain Brian Masaba won the toss and decided to bowl first. However, the decision backfired as the Afghan openers pummeled the young Ugandan bowling unit with a marathon opening partnership. As a result, the Asian nation displayed complete dominance right from the start.
Openers Gurbaz and Zadran’s mammoth stand set the platform
Uganda skipper Masaba wanted to check out how the pitch behaved initially but to no avail, as Afghanistan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz stepped on the paddle along with his partner Ibrahim Zadran to set the rising Asian team off to a flier. The duo stitched a mammoth 154-run stand for the first wicket to ensure the opposition was under the pump throughout the game. Gurbaz scored 76 off 45 balls while Zadran scored 70 off 46 balls.
Fazalhaq Farooqi claimed his maiden 5-wicket haul in T20I cricket
After that, during the run chase, Afghanistan’s prime left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi ran through an inexperienced Uganda batting lineup. in the first over, the pacer took two wickets to rattle the run chase. Besides, other Afghan bowlers too kept taking wickets at regular intervals which never allowed the Cranes to get back into the game. In totality, Farooqi was the destructor-in-chief as he claimed his maiden five-wicket haul with figures reading 5/9 in his four-over quota. This meant that the East African nation got folded for the fourth-lowest score in a T20 World Cup game with the final score being 58 in 16 overs.
Meanwhile, here’s what the Captains of Afghanistan vs Uganda clash had to say:
Rashid Khan, Winning Captain: The kind of start we wanted as a team. Does not matter who we play, it is about the mindset. The hard work we have done in the last few weeks, the way the openers started and the way our bowlers bowled – it was a great overall team effort. (On leading the team) Super exciting, proud feeling to be leading the team in the World Cup. Enjoying it so far, and have some tough games coming up. That is the beauty of this team. We have so many options and that makes it easy as a captain. Some bowlers, if they don’t have a good day, we have options. Good thing is they always deliver. Lucky to have those bowlers who are happy to bowl in any stage. Last World Cup (ODI WC in 2023), that gave us so much confidence. That gave us the belief that we are capable of beating any side at any time. It is not just about the skill and the talent, it is also about the belief, and concentrating on what we are doing rather than thinking of what the opposition is doing. (On facing NZ) Big game for us. It is about keeping things simple.
Brian Masaba, Losing captain: Pretty special moment for us, hearing our national anthem and seeing our flag at the World Cup. Something I will cherish for the rest of my life. First game at the World Cup, lot of nerves. Good to get that out of the way. We will look to come out and play better next game. Once the game starts, not a lot of time to think and feel stuff. They got off to a pretty good start and then it was about fighting back. It was very important how we fought back and full credit to the boys for that. (On what they are taking away from this match) Full credit to Afghanistan. They are one of the top bowling sides in the world, tough to get away. We did not bat at 100% and we can do better than this. We will look to bounce back against PNG.
Fazalhaq Farooqi, POTM: I have missed it (getting the hat-trick) a few times (smiles). Something that is not under my control and if I get a chance again, I will try to get that hat-trick. I tried to bowl a few balls and then see what was happening. I tried to make the most of the swing early on. Later, I tried to bowl the slower balls and mix it up. Kept it simple and wanted to hit the wickets. Playing franchise cricket helps you improve and helps on the big stage as well. Playing with so many big players, it helps in dealing with pressure and in bowling in the right areas.