NEWS
Follow UsUganda registered a three-wicket win against fellow associates Papua New Guinea (PNG) to get their first-ever win in the T20 World Cup. It just took the Cricket Cranes two games to get off the mark in the tournament and it was a momentous moment for them. Skipper Brian Masaba acknowledges the effort put in by the players and coaching staff in the last 3-4 years.
"Pretty special win for us, first win at the World Cup. Doesn't get more special than this. Super proud of this group of guys, put in the work, to get a win for their country at the World Cup is very special," Masaba said after the match.
"It's been quite a journey, 3-4 years of very hard work both by the players and the board back home to make this happen. Getting to the World Cup was very special, this is even more special. Compared to last game, we got our plans right today."
Masaba had rued the fact that his team did not execute well in the last game against Afghanistan, but acknowledged they were much better against PNG, bundling them out for just 77.
"Execution was much better, it's what we would have wanted in the first game, we got it right this time. The ability to adjust very quickly to the conditions and then execute the plans, super proud of the bowling display, they set up the win," Masaba said.
"Pretty simple - try and hit that hard length, wicket-to-wicket, we knew that the wicket was two-placed, kept a bit low sometimes and it worked in our favour," he further added when quizzed about what his pacers' plans were.
His counterpart Assad Vala felt a score of about 100 would have been enough on that surface in Guyana, but at the same time, was not pleased with the way his batters got out.
Difficult wicket to bat on. Not just for us, for them as well. We couldn't add up as quickly as possible ... runs around 100 was enough on that wicket, we couldn't add up. We lost crucial wickets at crucial times and a lot of soft dismissals.
PNG dropped a couple of sitters, which eventually cost them in the end. "As the tournament goes on, we need to take chances, we need to be at our best. We need to adapt quickly as possible in different grounds we play on," Vala added.
Riazat Ali Shah was criticised for playing a painful innings against Afghanistan, but his 56-ball 33 on June 5 (Wednesday) was good enough to take his side home.
"The message [from the management] was the same, score singles and rotate strike. First win of the WC, it's special, it's really amazing, thanks to our bowlers, also our supporters who always support and pray for us. Despite losing the first match, we knew we had talent and we came here to win," the batter said.
Uganda will look to put up another good show when they take on West Indies next on June 8 (Saturday). PNG, on the other hand, will lock horns with Afghanistan in Trinidad on June (13) Thursday.
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