Nsubuga conceded only four runs in his four overs, bowling two maidens and taking two wickets. It was the most vicious spell a bowler has ever delivered in the history of the T20 World Cup.
The competition in the United States and the West Indies truly lived up to the label of ‘T20 World Cup’, as tiny Uganda achieved a historic first in the event’s history. Uganda defeated Papua New Guinea by three wickets on Wednesday at Providence Stadium, in a low-scoring but tight match. Not only did Uganda make history, but so did 43-year-old spinner Frank Nsubuga, who bowled the most economical spell in T20 World Cup history.
Nsubuga took 2 wickets and bowled 2 maidens in his allotted 4 overs, giving up just 4 runs. In the history of the T20 World Cup, that was the meanest spell ever bowled.
With Riazat Ali Shah top-scoring with 33, the African team reached the target in 18.2 overs after battling to reach 26-5 in the reply. The African side knocked out PNG for 77.
Juma Miyagi (13) and Riazat shared a vital sixth-wicket partnership of 35 runs, which was enough to win the game for the tournament newcomers.
However, PNG will regret Charles Amini’s decision to drop Riazat at the eighteenth position after misjudging an easy catch.
In addition to having their work cut out for them trying to hold such a low total, the Pacific Islanders were also undone by some careless bowling, giving up 15 wides.
Following the intermission, Riazat proceeded to bat with discipline and concentration, and with three runs remaining to win, he skied a catch to John Kariko at third man.”Our first victory at the World Cup was quite special. More exceptional than this is unimaginable. I am extremely proud of these guys for their hard work in winning the World Cup and for making their country proud. In order to make this happen, the players and the board back home have had to work extremely hard for three to four years. While it was a great experience to get to the World Cup, this is even greater. We had our plans straight today compared to the prior game. This time around, we executed the play considerably better and achieved our goal, just as we would have in the first game.
“Very proud of the bowling display; they set up the win. They were able to quickly adapt to the conditions and then carry out the plans.” (The pacers’ strategy) was really straightforward: hit hard and wicket-to-wicket. We knew the wickets were two-placed and occasionally kept a touch low, so it worked to our advantage,” Uganda captain Brian Masaba said following the game.
After the squad defeated Zimbabwe, a more seasoned cricketing nation, to qualify for the tournament, Uganda celebrated their success with dancing on the field’s edge. This was their maiden point accumulation.c
