In their inaugural T20 World Cup match, Team Uganda (UGA) made history by defeating Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Guyana and winning their first-ever match. Notably, the side led by Brian Masaba showed resilience on Thursday, June 6, in a low-key drama that was Match 9 of the Battle of the Associates.
Masaba made the decision to go after the ball first after winning the toss. Early on, Uganda’s bowlers were very accurate with the ball, shocking PNG by removing captain Assad Vala and important players like Tony Ura. In terms of batting, Papua New Guinea only produced two players who reached double figures: Lega Siaka (12 off 17 balls) and Hiri Hiri (15 off 19 balls). The rest of the team folded rather easily.
Franco Nsubuga, a bowler from Uganda, set a world record.
But despite being the team’s oldest member, Franco Nsubuga was the player of the day, putting on an incredible bowling display. Notably, the 43-year-old, who made his Ugandan debut in 2019, first removed leading scorer Hiri Hiri from the game before dismissing Charles Amini (5 off 14 balls). The fact that Nsubuga only gave up four runs in his four-over period and took two wickets in addition to recording an equal number of maidens speaks much about the quality of his bowling effort.
This meant that the Ugandan bowler broke South Africa’s Anrich Nortje’s record, which was set against Sri Lanka not too long ago, to become the bowler with the fewest runs conceded in the Men’s T20 World Cup history. As a result, Papua New Guinea only lost by 77 runs.
Uganda made history thanks to a tremendous knock by Riaz Ali Shah, who won the match.
As a response, Papua New Guinea made sure the game wasn’t one-sided by quickly taking three wickets in a row, greatly exerting pressure on Uganda. Alei Nao, with a score of 3/6 in 2.1 overs of the run chase, trapped openers Roger Mukasa and Simon Ssesazi leg before wicket.
Following that, Riazat Ali Shah (33 off 56 balls) was the man who took the Ugandan batting team by storm. Prior to Chad Soper cleaning up the latter, Shah and Alpesh Ramjani shared a crucial 19-run stand (8 off 10 balls). Following that, Assad Vala, the captain of PNG, made his introduction and claimed a wicket, putting Uganda down five.
However, the exciting match took an unexpected turn when Ali Shah, having been dropped at point, was handed a lifeline, which enabled him to combine with Juma Miyagi (13 off 16) for another crucial 35-run partnership. Shah left the game in the end when the Cranes needed just three runs to win.
Uganda captain Brian Masaba was on the opposite end, as Kenneth Waiswa scored a double to complete the historic victory for the East African country in the T20 World Cup 2024. It was a fitting victory.
Meanwhile, here’s what the Captains of PNG vs Uganda clash had to say:
Brian Masaba, Winning Captain (Uganda): Pretty special win for us. First win at the World Cup, doesn’t get more special than this. Super proud of the work they put in. To get a win for their country at a World Cup, it is pretty special. It has been quite a journey. Three to four years of very, very hard work, by the players and the board back home. Getting to the World Cup was special, but this is more special. (On their bowling) When you think about it from the other day, we got our plans right. Our execution was much better.
The ability to adjust very quickly to the conditions – super proud of the bowling unit, they set up the game for us. (On the fast bowlers’ plan) It was pretty simple, bowl a hard length and keep it wicket-to-wicket. We got that right today and it worked in our favour. (On the partnership between Riazat and Miyagi) When you are three down early, chasing a low score, we know how it can be. It was a real scrap out there. Every run they scored was very important and kudos to them for keeping their heads down and doing the job for their teams.
(On message to the fans) We have a pretty special group of fans, who travel all around the world and support us. Don’t think they came expecting a win in the World Cup but this is the least we can do for them. I hope they feel as special as we do. There is a huge following back home. Staying up till 3:30 or 4:30 in the morning, it is not easy.
We salute them and appreciate them. I have a couple of guys from my old school who have threatened my life if I don’t give them regards live on tv (laughs). To the fans, thank you very much and keep bringing the support.
Assad Vala, Losing Captain (PNG): (On the score and the pitch) It was a difficult wicket to bat on, not just for us but for them also. We could not adapt as quickly. Runs around 100 would have been enough. We lost crucial wickets at crucial times. (On the message at the half-way stage) We spoke about how it was a tough wicket to start on. We learned from the lines and lengths they were bowling.
We got three early wickets. But when defending a low score, we have to take our chances, and we gave away too many extras (as well). Those are the things, as the tournament goes on and against good players, we have to improve, moving into the games against Afghanistan and New Zealand.
Riazat Ali Shah, POTM: It was not easy to bat on this wicket. When I was in, we lost a lot of wickets and I had to stay in. The target was not such that I had to hit big boundaries. (On his partnership with Miyagi) We were just talking about staying in, going till the end and rotating strike. It is our first World Cup and first win of the World Cup – it is a special moment for us.
Coming to the big stage, it is an amazing feeling and thanks to all our supporters back home and for our fans around the world. Whether we were on the up or down, they have always supported us. After the first game, we were a bit down but we knew how talented we are, and we wanted to show the world (how good we are).
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