5 factors that shaped up Afghanistan's massive win over Uganda

Perfect outing for Gurbaz, Zadran

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (45-ball 76) and Ibrahim Zadran (46-ball 70) killed the game right at the start with a 154-run partnership for the opening wicket. Uganda were very mediocre in the powerplay and allowed Afghanistan to get 66 runs in the first six overs.

Gurbaz slammed four fours and as many maximums, while Zadran crafted nine fours and a six. The two registered the second-highest opening partnership in the history of T20 World Cup.

Uganda bounce back in last six overs

Afghanistan were 152 for no loss at the end of 14 overs and looked set to go past 200 for the first time in their T20 WC history. Uganda, however, made a superb comeback in the last six overs and restricted Afghanistan to 183/5.

Afghanistan lost five wickets in the last six overs and could only score 31 runs. They didn’t hit a single boundary in that period. Cosmas Kyewuta (2/25) and Brian Masaba (2/21) bowled five of those six overs. This was only the sixth occasion in the T20 WC where a team didn’t hit a single boundary in the death overs (16-20) of an innings (all five overs played).

Nabi’s boundary-less knock

The openers had set the platform for the batters to come and Afghanistan promoted Mohammad Nabi to No.4 to get some quick runs. The 39-year-old, however, struggled to get going and could only score 14* off 16 deliveries. Not a single boundary in his knock.

Farooqi wreaks havoc

Afghanistan had enough runs on the board but everyone expected Uganda to put up some sort of a fight with the bat. But Fazalhaq Farooqi said 'not today'. The left-arm seamer registered insane figures of 5/9 and completely decimated the Uganda batting line-up.

Twice he got two wickets in two deliveries but failed to complete the hat-trick on both occasions. Farooqi became the fourth left-arm pacer to take a five-wicket haul in the T20 WC. That’s not it, he also registered the fourth-best figures in T20 WC history.

Uganda’s brutal introduction to WC

Riazat Ali Shah (34-ball 11) and Robinson Obuya (25-ball 14) were the only two Uganda batters to cross the 10-run mark. Uganda were eventually bowled out for 58 in 16 overs, registering the fourth-lowest total in T20 WC history. They lost the game by 125 runs, the fourth-highest margin of victory in T20 WC history.

If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.