AFG vs UGA | Twitter reacts as persistent Uganda respond to early Afghan onslaught with death bowling masterclass

SportsCafe Desk

BySportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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The end of one fairytale can often be just the beginning of another glorious story, as was the hope for Uganda when they took the field in Guyana on Guyanaa. Playing their first-ever World Cup game, the African unit was put under the pump early but recovered brilliantly to restrict Afghanistan.

‌Cricketing history was made in the Caribbean islands on Tuesday as Uganda became the latest African nation to take part in a cricket World Cup, having made history earlier by eliminating full-member Zimbabwe in the qualifying pathway. However, the Cranes were against a stern challenge against fellow underdogs Afghanistan who have undergone a similar journey from being write-offs to genuine dark horses and potential contenders for a top-four finish over the past decade. As expected, the Asian outfit came out on top in the early exchanges but was pegged back brilliantly by a spirited fightback from their rivals.

The opening pair of Rahmanullah Gurbaaz and Ibrahim Zadran got Afghanistan off to a flying start as the side raced away to 66/0 in the powerplay. The former was particularly lethal with his range of expansive attacking shots and brought up a 28-ball half-century shortly after the team reached three figures at the halfway mark. Zadran got to his own fifty off 34 deliveries and the duo looked set to take the team well past 200 with the death overs to come. However, Ugandan skipper Brian Masaba spoiled the party by disturbing Zadran's stumps in the 15th over with the score reading 154, followed by Gurbaaz holing out off Alpesh Ramjani's bowling four balls later. The next two overs further brought the scalps of Najibullah Zadran and Gulbadin Naib respectively, leading to a drastic decrease in the scoring rate. Eventually, the last six overs were worth a paltry 31 runs at the cost of five wickets, thus restricting Afghanistan to a gettable 183/5.

Twitterati was all praise for the resilience showcased by the World Cup's newest member and took to social media to express the same.

Big breakthrough!

Gone



Very tough

So close to the record

Well played

Very good

Big achievement

Stylish 

Superb

A big one

That really did the damage!

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