Guyana [West Indies], June 4 (ANI): Uganda captain Brian Masaba relished the special moment of hearing his nation’s national anthem during their debut appearance in the T20 World Cup.
Even though Uganda fell on the losing side, they witnessed a moment of a lifetime. They made their debut appearance in the tournament against Afghanistan.
During Uganda’s national anthem, the emotions were visible on the players’ faces. After suffering a 125-run win, Masaba recalled the moment and said, “Special moment to hear our national anthem and see our flag at the World Cup. It’s a moment that I will cherish for the rest of my life.”
Uganda won the toss and opted to bowl but got outplayed in all facets of the game. Masaba gave credit to Afghanistan for their exceptional all-rounded outing and is now aiming to bounce back in their next match against Papua New Guinea.
“They got a pretty good start. It was about fighting back and I thought we pulled it back pretty well at the end with the ball. Credit to them for playing well. One of the top bowling sides. Good seamers and quality spinners. We will look to bounce back better against PNG,” he added.
On a surface that seemed to assist the batters, Masaba decided to bowl after winning the toss. Despite enduring a loss, Masaba felt that the decision was good according to the game.
He explained the rationale behind his decision to bowl in the post-match press conference and said, “No, not at all in the context of the game I thought it was a good decision. They are a side that loves chasing, we’ve seen that from history, and we backed ourselves to go out there and bowl well and try and restrict them. Unfortunately, our execution wasn’t that great and they got off to a flyer, but we pulled the game back in the second half of our bowling innings. And I look back at that decision and I don’t think it was a bad decision.”
Recapping the match, the opening duo of Rahmanullah Gurbaz (76) and Ibrahim Zadran (70) forged a 154-run stand to help Afghanistan put 183/5 on the board.
In reply, Fazalhaq Farooqi took his maiden five-wicket haul which led to Uganda unfolding on 58 and sealed a thumping 125-run win for Afghanistan. (ANI)
