Uganda One Win Away From Beating Zimbabwe To T20 World Cup Qualification After Win Over Kenya

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.

After defeating Zimbabwe on Sunday (26 November), Uganda’s victory means they are one win away from qualifying for next year’s tournament. If they beat Rwanda in the final match of the tournament tomorrow (November 30), they will join Namibia as two other teams to qualify.

In today’s win, opening batsman Simon Sesaj scored 60 runs off 50 balls and number six Dinesh Nakrani scored 40 runs off 23 balls to set Kenya’s target at 163. Bilal Hasan then took his four wickets and Kenya were bowled out for 129, making the score 4-39 for him.

Uganda’s path to 2024 will be easier if they beat Rwanda, but a loss does not necessarily mean they will be eliminated. Namibia have already qualified and are at the top of the table with 10 points. The only other teams that are mathematically guaranteed to qualify for the second round are Uganda, who currently have eight points, Zimbabwe, who have six points, and Kenya, who also have six points.

These three teams still have games left. If Uganda loses against Rwanda and Kenya and Zimbabwe win their final matches, all three teams could end up with eight points. In this scenario, NRR will determine who finishes second in the table. Zimbabwe’s NRR (2.322) is significantly better than Uganda (0.759) and Kenya (0.039).

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Uganda could qualify even if both Uganda and Zimbabwe lose or Kenya wins. Kenya’s NRR means it will need significant momentum to overtake Uganda, but it is not impossible.

All three finals of the tournament will be held tomorrow (November 30th) in Windhoek.

Image credit: Uganda Cricket Association/Instagram

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