NZ VS UGA T20I

Right then, that's all from this lopsided affair, which saw New Zealand outplay Uganda to register their first win in the tournament. The action continues in the 2024 ICC Men's T20 World Cup on Saturday, June 15th. First up, India will take on Canada in Florida, where the weather has not been kind, but let's hope that we get some action. The game will start at 8 pm IST (2.30 pm GMT). Following that, England will go up against Namibia in Antigua, with qualification on the line for the defending champions. That game will begin at 10.30 pm IST (5 pm GMT). Do join us in advance for the build-up of both games. See you then. Cheers!

Kane Williamson, the skipper of New Zealand says there was plenty of help on the surface and it was nice to do the job in the first half. Tells that there should be ideas and methods for this kind of pitch as we have seen throughout the tournament how different the conditions are. Feels the teams getting exposure at the highest levels helps to learn from. Tells they will recover tomorrow, play their next match and then have discussions on what went wrong in the tournament.

The captain of Uganda, Brian Masaba says that it has been a wonderful experience as a team and the exposure to such a high-quality environment has been eye-opening. Shares that them playing in a World Cup has done wonders for the sport back home. Hopes that Ugandan cricket can use this as a platform and build on it. Tells that he has tried to interact with players from other teams and pick their brains. Further says that he tried to gather as much knowledge as he could. States that this has been a humbling experience for him and thanks the West Indies' fans for being receptive of them.

Tim Southee wins the PLAYER OF THE MATCH award. He says it was a clinical performance and was nice to get a win. Shares they are disappointed not to qualify, they came with high hopes and had the experience in the squad but were outplayed in the first two games and are disappointed it ended so quickly. Mentions they have a proud record in World Cups, and had a nice break coming into the tournament as well.

Time for the presentation ceremony...

Earlier in the game, after being inserted into bat, it was baptism by fire for Uganda. To be fair, Trent Boult and Tim Southee were at their lethal best for New Zealand. Having not faced such high-quality swing and seam bowling before during their careers, the Ugandan batters understandably found it tough to cope. It was more about survival than anything else, resulting in Uganda managing only 9 runs in the Powerplay, the lowest score in all T20 World Cups. There was no respite for the Ugandan batters as Lockie Ferguson and the spin duo of Mitchell Santner and Rachin Ravindra extended the stranglehold over them. On a surface offering help for both pacers and spinners, Uganda never looked assured, and they were eventually bowled out for 40. For New Zealand, Tim Southee was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3 for 4 from his 4 overs, including a maiden.

A brutal end to what has otherwise been a memorable maiden World Cup campaign for Uganda. Their maiden World Cup win against Papua New Guinea was the highlight for them, and the experience they would have gained rubbing shoulders with top nations has its weight worth in gold. Considering the calibre they have shown across their debut World Cup outing, the African nation is certainly going to grow from strength to strength from here. Given the fight shown by the batting unit to drag the innings till the 19th over, a similar fight was expected by Uganda with the ball. While Riazat Ali Shah struggled in the solitary over he bowled, the new ball pairing of Cosmas Kyewuta and Juma Miyagi bowled tightly and made the Kiwi batters work hard for every run.

New Zealand brush aside Uganda to finally get off the mark in the competition. Who would have thought that a team consistently reaching the semis in all ICC limited-overs Men's events since 2014 would take three games to secure their first points? With only 41 runs to get, the Kiwis were expected to get there without any blemishes, but it wasn't to be as Finn Allen's struggling stay came to an end as he fell on 9. Although it has come late, his opening partner, Devon Conway, seemed to regain his touch and struck a few classy boundaries to take his side over the line.

FOUR! New Zealand have done it inside six overs! Shorter and down leg. Devon Conway helps it down to fine leg for a boundary. THE KIWIS WIN BY 9 WICKETS.

FOUR! Clean from Conway! A couple of really good shots from him! Pitched up, outside off, Conway leans and drives it through covers for a boundary.

Finally the over comes to an end! Short in length and on middle, Conway tucks it to square leg for one.

Wide! Fourth wide of the over! Riazat Ali Shah comes around the wicket and bangs it short on the leg side. Conway leaves and it goes over his head.

Wide! Turning out to be a big over. Spills it down the leg side, Conway lets it go to the keeper.

Wide! Well down the leg side, Conway leaves it alone.

FOUR! Just two big hits away are the Kiwis now. Shorter and on middle, sits nicely for Devon Conway who pulls it past deep square leg for a boundary.

Angles away a length ball, outside off. Conway looks to cut it away but the ball stays low and he misses.

Too full and on the pads. Rachin Ravindra flicks it to deep square leg and gets off the mark with a single.