Uganda’s hopes of another famous win over Zimbabwe came crashing down on Friday evening in Harare, as the Cricket Cranes fell to a five-wicket defeat in their opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier.
Having stunned Zimbabwe two years ago in Namibia to book a historic World Cup berth, Uganda arrived with belief and purpose. They backed it up early on, racing to 53 in the powerplay thanks to an aggressive start from Raghav Dhawan (29) and Sumeet Verma (45). At 94 for 3 halfway through their innings, a repeat upset looked well within reach.
But the innings lost steam just when it mattered most. Zimbabwe’s bowlers, led by Blessing Muzarabani (3/20) and Brad Evans (3/19), wrestled back momentum with smart, disciplined bowling. Uganda crumbled under pressure, adding just 52 runs in the final eight overs to finish on 152/9 — a total that felt 20 runs short of par.
“We got a good start from Sumeet and Raghav, but fell short at the back end,” admitted Uganda captain Riazat Ali Shah. “Those last eight overs really hurt us.”
The disappointment only grew once Zimbabwe began their chase. Brian Bennett took the game away from Uganda almost singlehandedly, blasting a match-winning 72 off 44 balls, including nine fours and three sixes. Despite some fight from Uganda’s bowlers with Juma Miyagi (2/42) and spinners Henry Ssenyondo and Joseph Baguma trying to slow things down, Zimbabwe cruised to 157/5 with 15 balls to spare.
Wicketkeeper Cyrus Kakuru summed up Uganda’s frustration: “We tried to wrestle the game back, but Bennett had already done the damage.”
Uganda will now face a must-win clash against Tanzania on Sunday to keep their World Cup dream alive.
