- Uganda 152/9 in 20 Overs
- Zimbabwe 157/5 in 17.3 overs
- Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets.
Two years ago in Windhoek, Uganda shocked Zimbabwe by five wickets to book their first ICC Men’s T20 World Cup berth.
On Friday evening in Harare, Zimbabwe flipped the script, cruising to a five-wicket win that keeps their 2026 World Cup hopes on track and leaves Uganda searching for answers in the opener.
Uganda arrived hungry for a repeat. Captain Riazat Ali Shah won the toss and chose to bat and the Cricket Cranes started brightly, 53 runs in the opening six overs (power play) as Raghav Dhawan (29) and Sumeet Verma (45) attacked the new ball. At 94 for 3 halfway through, another upset seemed possible.
But Zimbabwe’s bowlers, wiser from past mistakes, struck back. Blessing Muzarabani (3/20) and Brad Evans (3/19) tore through the middle order.
From 94 for 3, Uganda slid to 152 for 9, losing wickets in clumps.
Any hopes of defending that total disappeared with Brian Bennett’s blistering 72 off 44, featuring nine fours and three sixes.
Brendan Taylor added a calm 39 and captain Sikandar Raza chipped in 24 as Zimbabwe reached 157 for 5 with 15 balls to spare. Juma Miyagi’s 2/42 was Uganda’s lone highlight.
For Zimbabwe, it was sweet revenge. For Uganda, a lesson that early fireworks aren’t enough against a team that has learned its history.
The Cricket Cranes face a crucial game Sunday morning against Tanzania at Takashinga Sports Club. Their World Cup dream lives on, but the road just got steeper.
