A record-breaking opening stand between Ibrahim Zadran and Rahmanullah Gurbaz combined with a sensational display of swing bowling by Fazalhaq Farooqi helped Afghanistan register the fourth biggest win in ICC Men's T20 World Cup history - by 125-run, over debutants Uganda at Providence Stadium in Guyana.
Hopeful of a memorable T20 World Cup debut, Uganda started off with plenty of energy on the field, however, things went haywire for them after the Afghan openers Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran combined together to register the second-highest opening stand (154) in the history of the tournament.
Gurbaz was fluent right from the outset and scored 76 off 45 balls. His strike rate of 168.88 allowed Ibrahim Zadran to pace his innings at his preferred tempo. Zadran was a bit tentative at the beginning but accelerated towards the end to compensate for his slow start.
Zadran, 22, scored 70 off 46 balls with the help of nine fours and a maximum and batted at a strike rate of 152.17.
Afghanistan's innings ran out of gas as soon as Uganda broke the opening partnership. Uganda's bowlers wrestled back momentum and limited Afghanistan to just 183 in their 20 overs.
However, the target proved to be just too much for the African side as they looked ordinary against a well-oiled Afghanistan attack led by left-arm seamer Fazalhaq Farooqi. Farooqi ran through Uganda's batting order and finished with figures of 5/9 - the fourth-best ever registered in the marquee tournament.
Player of the Match (POTM) Farooqi also recorded his personal best bowling figures in T20I cricket and put Uganda immediately on the back foot in the first over of the run chase. Farooqi got rid of Ronak Patel and Roger Mukasa in the first over and Uganda never managed to recover from the double whammy.
The African nation eventually folded for 58 in 16 overs, recording the fourth-lowest total in the history of the Men's T20 World Cup.
