FANTASY PREVIEW
Follow UsRecent form (recent first)
PNG - L L W W L
Uganda - L W L W W
Head to Head
Overall: Match 1 | PNG 1 | Uganda 0
Venue details
The Providence Stadium in Guyana has hosted two games so far in the 2024 T20 World Cup and the batters have struggled to score runs here at a good pace. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran did add 154 runs in 14.3 overs but that was largely because of some very poor bowling and fielding from Uganda.
The key here is change-up deliveries and hitting the surface and once Uganda understood that, they didn’t concede a single boundary in the last six overs. Overall, the batters have operated at an average of 18.4 and a scoring rate of 6.9. When it comes to bowling, pacers have a much better strike rate (13.7 v 22.5) but the latter have been more economical (6.3 v 7.3).
Weather conditions
It’s going to be mostly cloudly in Guyana, with 15-25 percent chances of rain. The humidity is going to be around 85 percent.
Players to watch out for
Alpesh Ramjani - Uganda’s rise from nowhere is certainly a fairytale that would be told for years. At the centre of that rise is Ramjani, who was nominated alongside Suryakumar Yadav for the ICC Player of the Year award.
The left-arm spinner has picked up 69 wickets since 2023 – the most – at a staggering average of 8.5 and a mind-boggling economy rate of 4.6 in 36 matches. He could only take one wicket against Afghanistan and would want to make a bigger impact against PNG. What’s more, Ramjani could also fetch you points with the bat.
Dinesh Nakrani - The 32-year-old didn’t have a great game against Afghanistan but has been a consistent performer for Uganda since 2023. The fast-bowling all-rounder is averaging 30.18 with the bat in this period and has also taken 25 wickets at a strike rate of 23.7.
Assad Vala - 21 runs and two wickets - the PNG skipper managed to make his presence felt against the West Indies. The 36-year-old is PNG’s leading run-scorer since 2023, scoring 426 runs across 16 innings at an average of 32.77 and a strike rate of 118.7. He also has nine wickets to his name at a strike rate of 16.
Key battles
Kabua Morea vs Uganda batters
Fazalhaq Farooqi (5/9) wreaked havoc with his left-arm pace against Uganda. PNG too have a left-arm seamer in their arsenal, Kabua Morea. Since 2023, the 30-year-old has played nine games and picked up 15 wickets at an economy of 6.2 and a strike rate of 13.2. If gets that new ball to swing, Morea could trouble Uganda batters.
Cricket.com’s suggested Fantasy XI
Probable Playing XI
PNG - Tony Ura, Assad Vala (c), Sese Bau, Lega Siaka, Hiri Hiri, Charles Amini, Kiplin Doriga (wk), Alei Nao, Chad Soper, Kabua Morea, John Kariko
Uganda - Simon Ssesazi (wk), Roger Mukasa, Ronak Patel, Riazat Ali Shah, Dinesh Nakrani, Robinson Obuya, Alpesh Ramjani, Brian Masaba (c), Bilal Hassan, Cosmas Kyewuta, Henry Ssenyondo
Streaming and Telecast details
The match will begin at 5 AM IST on June 6 (Thursday) and will be streamed and telecasted on Disney+ Hotstar and Star Sports.
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.
