Credit: X
On Wednesday, June 5, Uganda scripted history by winning their first-ever match in the history of the T20 World Cup. The Uganda cricket team defeated Papua New Guinea (PNG) by three wickets in a tricky run chase during their T20 World Cup 2024 Group C clash before celebrating in style with a victory dance at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.
After winning the toss, Brian Masaba, the captain of Uganda, decided to field first, and his decision paid instant dividends when Alpesh Ramjani dismissed the PNG captain, Assad Vala, who didn’t trouble the scorers. The batting lineup of Papua New Guinea kept losing wickets at regular intervals with Hiri Hiri (15 off 18) being the top-scorer.
The wickets were shared among the Uganda bowlers, including Alpesh Ramjani, Cosmas Kyewuta, Juma Miyagi, and Frank Nsubuga picking up two each. In the run chase, the Uganda batting lineup was reduced to 6/3 with their top three back into the pavilion in a jiffy against Alei Nao and Norman Vanua of PNG.
Alpesh Ramjani and Dinesh Nakrani lost their wickets shortly after, which reduced Uganda to 26/5, with 52 more runs needed for the win. But then, Riazat Ali Shah and Juma Miyagi stitched together a vital stand of 35 runs for the sixth wicket, to put their team close to a win.
Kenneth Waiswa and Brain Masaba were at the crease when Uganda got across the finishing line with three wickets in hand, sparking a massive celebration among the players, support staff, and their fans in the stands at the Providence Stadium in Guyana. With that, under the bright lights of the Caribbean, this batch of the Uganda cricket team went into the history books as the winners of the first-ever T20 World Cup match for their country.
Watch the Uganda cricket team and fans' victory dance:
