END OF OVER:16 | 2 Runs 2 Wkts | UGA: 58/10 (126 runs required from 24 balls, RR: 3.62, RRR: 31.50)
- Cosmas Kyewuta2 (2b)
- Rashid Khan4-0-12-2
- Fazalhaq Farooqi4-0-9-5
12:15am Right. That will be a wrap from us for this game. The matches come thick and fast in the T20 World Cup and in about ten hours from now, England will begin their T20 World Cup defence against Scotland. Do join us for that encounter too. Until then, this is me (Shashwat) saying goodbye on behalf of Ranjith, Sudeep and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo. Take care, folks!
Rashid Khan, Afghanistan 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, Uganda 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, Player of the Match: 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.
Sampath tells me that there have been six 100-plus run margin wins in men's T20 World Cup - two each by South Africa and Afghanistan, and two by the rest.
11:50pm A one-sided game, and a tough first day at school for Uganda. There were promising patches in the first innings, but the second innings ended up illustrating the gulf in quality and experience.
Uganda had no answer to Farooqi's swing and Naveen's accuracy inside the powerplay, losing as many as five wickets in the first six overs. Rashid finally got into the act towards the end, although this evening, from a bowling POV, belonged to Farooqi, who bagged his maiden five-wicket haul in T20I cricket.
Coming back to Uganda, there was not much to write home about. However, they might look at this as a steep learning curve and use this to prepare better for the games that lie ahead. Only two of their batters returned double-digit scores, with extras being the third-highest scorer. And that perhaps sums up the kind of initiation Uganda had.
H Ssenyondo b Rashid Khan 0 (1m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Ssenyondo is the last batter in. Can Rashid finish it off? Slip in place
Bilal Hassun lbw b Rashid Khan 8 (18m 16b 1x4 0x6) SR: 50.00
END OF OVER:15 | 2 Runs | UGA: 56/8 (128 runs required from 30 balls, RR: 3.73, RRR: 25.60)
- Bilal Hassan6 (11b)
- Cosmas Kyewuta2 (2b)
- Fazalhaq Farooqi4-0-9-5
- Rashid Khan3-0-10-0
Farooqi finishes with a spell of 4-0-9-5, which is the best at this year's T20 World Cup so far
Farooqi to bowl out. Over the wicket now
END OF OVER:14 | 6 Runs | UGA: 54/8 (130 runs required from 36 balls, RR: 3.85, RRR: 21.66)
- Bilal Hassan5 (6b)
- Cosmas Kyewuta1 (1b)
- Rashid Khan3-0-10-0
- Fazalhaq Farooqi3-0-7-5
Here's Rashid again
END OF OVER:13 | 1 Run 3 Wkts | UGA: 48/8 (136 runs required from 42 balls, RR: 3.69, RRR: 19.42)
- Bilal Hassan1 (1b)
- Fazalhaq Farooqi3-0-7-5
- Mujeeb Ur Rahman3-0-16-1
R Obuya c †Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Fazalhaq Farooqi 14 (42m 25b 0x4 1x6) SR: 56.00
Farooqi on a hat-trick again. Can he get it this time? Bilal on strike. Farooqi stays around the wicket
B Masaba c †Rahmanullah Gurbaz b Fazalhaq Farooqi 0 (1m 1b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
Captain Masaba walks in. Farooqi goes around the wicket
Riazat Ali Shah b Fazalhaq Farooqi 11 (56m 34b 0x4 0x6) SR: 32.35