Uganda's dream of reaching the T20 Cricket World Cup came to an end after winning the third game. Despite coming into form for the tournament, things did not go well for the Cranes.
In this round, each team had three fixtures; Uganda had to face Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Botswana. They lost two early games and ended their chance for the next round of the T20 WC Qualifiers.
The first match was against the home side, Zimbabwe, where they set a decent total of 152 in 20 overs. But for a team like Zimbabwe, it just felt like nothing. Zimbabwe completed it in just 17.3 overs, with five wickets to spare. An early wicket could have helped Uganda, but the partnership between Brian Bennet and Branden Taylor made it a totally one-sided chase. Zimbabwe beat Uganda in the first match.
The second match was against Tanzania, where it was expected to be a neck-to-neck clash. Uganda did an amazing job in bowling, where they restricted Tanzania to 128 for six down. It felt like an easy chase for Uganda. The early partnership was also seen as a win for Uganda, where they made 80 in just 9.4 overs by losing two wickets. However, later on, Tanzania outclassed the Cranes, beating Uganda by nine runs.
Uganda had already lost two matches, which meant they were already out of the next round of the T20 Qualifiers. The third match was just a formality now, where Uganda were up against Botswana, who scored 81-6 in 20 overs. A low target and a possible chance for Uganda. The Cranes chased it in just 12.4 overs at two lost, where they secured only one win for themselves.
During the tournament, Uganda was totally out of sync, as they batted decently against Zimbabwe while bowling terribly. In the second game, they bowled decently but fumbled at batting, which was one of the reasons they exited. Maybe in the future, they will overcome these errors and will rise to the global cricket standard.
