Uganda have put themselves in prime position to qualify for the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup with a 33-run win over Kenya in their penultimate match in the Africa Qualifier.
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Having beaten Zimbabwe on Sunday (November 26), their latest victory means Uganda are just one win away from securing a place in next year’s tournament. If they beat Rwanda in their final match of the tournament tomorrow (November 30), they will join Namibia as the two teams to progress from the Qualifier.
Opening batter Simon Ssesazi scored 60 runs off 50 balls in today’s win, Dinesh Nakrani from No. 6 blasted 40 off 23 to set Kenya a target of 163 to chase. Bilal Hasan then took four wickets as Kenya were bowled out for 129, returning figures of 4-39.
While Uganda’s path to 2024 is simple if they beat Rwanda, they are not necessarily ruled out if they lose. Namibia have already secured qualification and sit at the top of the table on ten points. The only other teams mathematically capable of securing the second qualification sport are Uganda on eight points, who currently occupy the position, Zimbabwe who have six points and Kenya who also have six.
All of those three teams have one match left to play. If Uganda lose their match to Rwanda and Kenya and Zimbabwe win their final games, all three teams could end up on eight points. In that scenario, NRR would decide who finished in second on the table. Zimbabwe’s NRR (2.322) is significantly better than both Uganda’s (0.759) and Kenya’s (0.039).
If both Uganda and Zimbabwe lose but Kenya win, Uganda could still qualify. Kenya’s NRR means that they would require a significant swing in order to overtake Uganda, but not an impossible one.
All three of the final matches of the tournament will take place in Windhoek tomorrow (November 30).
