The gulf in cricketing class and experience was too glaring to bridge. West Indies demolished Uganda by a whopping 144 runs in match 18 of ICC T20 World Cup 2024 on Sunday (June 9). Chasing a virtually unassailable target of 174 runs at the Providence Stadium in Guyana (West Indies), Uganda collapsed for a lowly 39 runs. It was the joint-lowest team total at men's T20 World Cups, and the victory was Windies' sixth consecutive one in the T20I format. (As It Happened | Scorecard | Full Coverage)
Akeal Hosein was the wrecker-in-chief for the Windies, registering his maiden five-wicket haul in T20Is to return glorious figures of 11-5 in four overs. The left-arm spinner proved unplayable for the Uganda batters, who were bamboozled by his arm balls. His bowling analysis is now the best-ever by a Windies player at T20 World Cups.
The procession of wickets began in the very first over, with Hosein trapping Roger Mukasa in front for a second-ball duck - his third successive blob in the tournament. Romario Shepherd, Andre Russell and Alzarri Joseph were all among the wickets as Brian Masaba and Co perished cheaply in the pursuit of quick runs.
The foundation for the landslide win was set by Johnson Charles (44 off 42 balls) and Russell (30 not out off 17). While opener Charles anchored the innings, Russell gave the final flourish in a typically damaging cameo that included four boundaries in the 20th over.
Earlier, West Indies captain Rovman Powell won the toss and decided to bat first. This was the third match of the tournament for Uganda, who now have one win (over Papua New Guinea) and two losses (against West Indies and Afghanistan), and will now be playing for pride in their last group game.
Their Group C rivals West Indies won their opening clash against PNG, which means Rovman Powell's side do not have the worries of elimination hanging over their heads as yet. Afghanistan currently lead the group with two wins out of as many matches (superior net run rate to WI), on the back of their stunning triumph against New Zealand.
Playing XIs
West Indies: David Warner, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh(c), Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(w), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
Uganda: Kashyap Prajapati, Pratik Athavale(w), Aqib Ilyas(c), Zeeshan Maqsood, Khalid Kail, Ayaan Khan, Shoaib Khan, Mehran Khan, Shakeel Ahmed, Kaleemullah, Bilal Khan.
West Indies will next face New Zealand on June 12 in Tarouba, while Uganda will also head to Tarouba next for their final group-stage match against the Kiwis on June 15.
