Afghanistan openers Gurbaz, Zadran dominate Uganda in T20 clash

Rahmanullah Gurbaz blasted 76 as Afghanistan dominated T20 World Cup debutants Uganda to score 183-5 in their Group C clash in Guyana on Monday.

Uganda were given a brutal introduction to elite tournament cricket after winning the toss and opting to bowl as Gurbaz and fellow opener Ibrahim Zadran cut loose at Providence Stadium.

Gurbaz's knock came off 45 balls and included four fours and four sixes.

Zadran was similarly merciless, clubbing Uganda's bowlers around the ground to finish with 70 off 46 balls in an innings that included nine fours and one six.

Gurbaz and Zadran's opening stand of 154 was the second highest in men's T20 World Cup history, second only to the 170 partnership between England's Jos Buttler and Alex Hales at the 2022 World Cup.

For long periods it looked as if Gurbaz and Zadran would go unbeaten, but Uganda staged a minor fightback late in the innings thanks to two wickets apiece from captain Brian Masaba and Cosmas Kyewuta, and one from Alpesh Ramjani.

Masaba claimed a piece of cricket history for the East African nation after taking his country's first ever World Cup wicket, bowling Zadran in the 15th over to leave the score at 154-1.

Ramjani then removed Gurbaz, who was caught by Riazat Ali Shah at deep square leg for 76 before Masaba claimed his second wicket, getting rid of Najibullah Zadran, who was caught at deep square leg by Dinesh Nakrani.

Kyewuta claimed the wickets of Gulbadin Naib and Azmatullah Omarzai to stem the flow of Afghanistan scoring late on.