Zimbabwe find themselves on thin ice as far as their qualification to next year’s T20 World Cup goes as Uganda secured a stunning five-wicket win in the African Region Qualifier tournament in Namibia. Zimbabwe, who also lost to the hosts earlier this week, are fifth in the points table with three matches to go. The teams that finish top two (among seven) will make it to the 20-team tournament in the USA and West Indies.
Zimbabwe were dragged to 136/7 by Sikandar Raza, who scored 48 off 39. However, the batting around him crumbled, particularly against the left-arm pace of Dinesh Nakrani, who finished with figures of 3 for 14. Left-arm spinner Henry Ssenyondo was handful too, picking two wickets in his three overs.
Uganda were down to 12 for 2 in the fourth over, but Alpesh Ramjani and Roger Mukasa revived the chase with a vital stand worth 49 runs. Ramjani was particularly brutal on the Zimbabwe bowlers, smashing four fours and two sixes on his way to a 26-ball 40. Zimbabwe ended his whirlwind innings in the 11th over, but out stepped Riazat Ali Shah to bat at a similar tempo. He hit five fours and one six in his 28-ball 42.
The chase was down to Uganda needing 30 off the last three overs. Nakrani and Ali Shah went after Tendai Chatara in the 18th over, hitting him for 20 runs. Richard Ngarava dismissed Ali Shah in the penultimate over but the dent came too late as Uganda completed the chase with five balls to spare. Zimbabwe’s last three fixtures are against Rwanda, Nigeria and Kenya.
Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 136/7 in 20 overs (Sikandar Raza 48; Dinesh Nakrani 3-14, Henry Ssenyondo 2-25) lost to Uganda 138/5 in 19.1 overs (Riazat Ali Shah 42, Alpesh Ramjani 40; Richard Ngarava 2-24) by 5 wickets
