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The rise of Afghanistan should always be remarked upon for its simply remarkable story and they head into another ICC T20 World Cup looking to cause some more upsets as they face ICC major tournament debutants Uganda in this opening clash.
DATE & TIME: Monday 3rd June, 2024 – USA – 19:30 / West Indies – 18:30 & Tuesday 4th June, 2024 – UK – 01:30 / South Africa – 02:30 / Pakistan – 05:30 / India – 06:00 / Bangladesh – 06:30 / Australia – 10:30
VENUE: Providence Stadium, Providence, Guyana
WEATHER: We are expected to have highs of around 31 degrees Celsius throughout Monday in the Caribbean with a heavy shower in the afternoon but it should be dry and hot by the time play begins.
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: USA – Willow TV / West Indies – ESPN Caribbean / UK – Sky Sports / South Africa – SuperSport / Pakistan – PTV Sports & TEN Sports / India – Star Sports / Bangladesh – Disney Star / Australia – N/A
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: USA – Willow TV website / West Indies – ESPN Play Caribbean app / UK – Sky Go / South Africa – SuperSport app / Pakistan – Myco & Tamasha / India – Disney+Hotstar / Bangladesh – Disney+Hotstar / Australia – Amazon Prime Video
AFGHANISTAN FORM: VARIED AFGHAN ATTACK
Afghanistan have some good pace bowlers, such as Fazalhaq Farooqi and Naveen-ul-Haq, to go alongside their famed spin attack of Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Rashid Khan et al but there will be concerns they couldn’t make many incisions the other day against the Omani top order in an eventually abandoned warm-up, taking just three wickets in the 20 overs they bowled.
LAST FIVE: AWWLW
UGANDA FORM: THE GREAT UNDERDOGS
Uganda being at this tournament is a remarkable and fairly miraculous story, defeating Zimbabwe in Africa qualifying to make it this far. Their most recent outing saw them post just 90-5 in 18 overs in a rain affected no result game against Scotland the other day after being comfortably defeated by Namibia.
LAST FIVE: ALWLW
AFGHANISTAN BETTING ANALYSIS
Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran is one of the most exciting T20I opening partnerships anywhere in the world at the moment and they will seek to feast on an inexperienced Ugandan bowling attack. A high-scoring opening partnership of 50+ or even 100+ would be a sensible bet.
As mentioned, the Afghans did struggle to take wickets against Oman the other day with Rashid Khan especially seemingly underperforming with figures of 0-21 off three overs. Given that and the fact Mujeeb didn’t bowl, siding with Mujeeb to be their most effective bowler in terms of wickets taken seems a good bet for this opening clash.
UGANDA BETTING ANALYSIS
In that aforementioned clash with Scotland the other day, Uganda posted a small total at a very low run rate only three players reaching double figures and those that did did with a highest strike rate of 84.21. Given that, going unders for a Ugandan score, perhaps even in double digits and bowled out, seems a good bet.
As for their bowling options, 21-year-old Juma Miyagi went for 18 runs in the five balls that he bowled so whether they give him the nod remains to be seen here. Either way, their best chance of taking wickets is via Cosmas Kyewuta so backing him to be their best bowler in the match is the way to go.
AFGHANISTAN VS UGANDA EXPERT PREDICTION
The expansion of the ICC T20 World Cup is a wonderful thing for cricket and Uganda will be one of many teams looking to Afghanistan’s rise to being a genuine, genuine full member and respected side for inspiration. In this game, though, there will be no favours handed out and a comprehensive, potentially humiliating Afghan victory is to be expected as they prepare for a very tough group alongside the likes of the West Indies and New Zealand.
AFGHANISTAN VS UGANDA TIP: AFGHANISTAN TO WIN