After defeating Rwanda in their last Africa area qualifier match, Uganda advanced to the T20 World Cup for the first time in their cricketing history. In the process, they excluded Zimbabwe from the main competition, which is set to take place in the USA and the West Indies next year.

Namibia was the first team to secure one of the two positions up for grabs in order to qualify for the actual tournament earlier in the competition.

Uganda were favourites to win the tournament going into the final round of fixtures on Thursday (November 30), as they faced a winless Rwanda. Zimbabwe needed to beat Kenya and hope Uganda lost to Rwanda in order to overtake Uganda in the points table. Rwanda, on the other hand, lost a wicket in the opening over of their innings and never recovered.

Rwanda’s batting lineup collapsed spectacularly, with only two hitters reaching double figures. Rwanda were eventually bowled out for 65, a score Uganda easily chased down to win by nine wickets and secure their place in the 2024 T20 World Cup.

Zimbabwe did everything they could from their end, with the in-form captain Sikandar Raza moving up the order and hitting eight sixes on his way to a 48-ball 82. Zimbabwe ended up scoring 217 points as a result, although their loss to Uganda four days earlier cost them in the end.