Bowlers help New Zealand get off the mark after crushing win against Uganda

New Delhi,UPDATED: Jun 15, 2024 08:26 IST

Tim Southee picked up 3 wickets while Trent Boult, Rachin Ravindra and Mitchell Santner picked 2 each as a clinical performance with the ball helped New Zealand get off the mark at the T20 World Cup 2024 on June 15, Saturday. The Blackcaps won the match by x wickets in the end as they had to chase just 41 runs in the end. New Zealand were playing for pride after being knocked out of the competition with losses to Afghanistan and West Indies.

Trent Boult set the tone early, dismissing Simon Ssesazi for a first-ball duck in the opening over. He then took out Robinson Obuya on the very next delivery. Tim Southee quickly joined in, removing Alpesh Ramjani, leaving Uganda in deep trouble at 2 for 3 in the 4th over. They managed to avoid losing more wickets during the powerplay but could only scrape together 9 runs, setting an unfortunate record for the lowest powerplay score in T20 World Cup history.

Uganda's woes continued as wickets fell regularly. Opener Ronak Patel was dismissed for 2 off 20 balls by Mitchell Santner. Lockie Ferguson and Rachin Ravindra added to Uganda's misery, with Ravindra taking two wickets, leaving Uganda at a dismal 26 for 7 by the 14th over.

Uganda was in danger of posting the lowest total in T20 World Cup history, a record they share with the Netherlands. Only three boundaries were struck in the entire innings as New Zealand's bowlers maintained relentless pressure. Southee returned to the attack and claimed two wickets in consecutive balls in his final over. Despite the onslaught, Uganda managed to surpass the 39-run mark, avoiding the lowest score but ending with the second-lowest total in T20 World Cup history as Santner closed the innings at 40.

The New Zealand openers weren't off to a blazing start as Finn Allen and Devon Conway seemed to be focused on getting the job done and not be too concerned about finishing the game early. Allen would get dismissed by Riazat Ali Shah, but it proved to be a consolation prize for Uganda, who ended their maiden campaign with 3 losses. New Zealand will play Papua New Guinea on June 17.

Uganda learns a big lesson

Uganda has been a fairytale story in the T20 World Cup, but there are a lot of areas they would need to improve. The batting has been their most glaring weakness as it was exposed in all the matches they played in the group.

Against West Indies, they were bundled out for 39 runs, the joint-lowest total in T20 World Cups. In their only win, the chase against PNG, they lost 7 wickets while looking to get to a score of 78. If they're to grow and compete against big teams, batting will be the big focus for them.