USA's go-slow approach in the early phase of play after choosing to bat first wound up costing them dearly as Uganda allrounder Immaculate Nakisuuyi made the most of a dropped chance on 8 to blitz USA's bowlers with seven fours and a six during a career-best 68 not out to take Uganda to en eight-wicket victory with 10 balls to spare. 

Photo credit: Francois Nel/ICC/Getty Images

By Peter Della Penna in Abu Dhabi (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
Uganda Women’s allrounder Immaculate Nakisuuyi put on a thrilling display on her way to a career-best 68 not out, helping her side recover from a position of 9 for 2 in the fifth over to eventually haul down USA Women’s total of 110 for 5 with 10 balls to spare in an eight-wicket win for the African side in Group A play at the 2024 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Nakisuuyi was the easy choice for Player of the Match after a T20I career-best 68 off 64 balls with seven fours and a six. 

Having failed to register a win in the group stage in their two previous appearances at the global qualifier in 2019 and 2022, USA looked like they were finally on course to do so after striking two early blows in the chase. A full outswinger from Geetika Kodali resulted in a false drive and an edge behind by Proscovia Alako for a fifth-ball duck in the opening over of Uganda’s reply. Esther Iloku poked away from her body in the fifth over, edging Isani Vaghela behind to depart for 2 off 14 balls as Uganda looked in dire straits at 9 for 2. 
 
But opener Nakisuuyi was joined by her best friend Stephanie Nampiina and the two took their time to settle the innings down, albeit aided by some fielding lapses from USA. Nakisuuyi edged Vaghela behind in the seventh over as USA captain Sindhu Sriharsha dove to her right to latch onto a one-handed chance. But the ball popped out of Sriharsha’s right glove after a hard landing on her right elbow, turning what would have been the catch of the tournament for USA into a false dawn. 
 
It was the only reprieve Nakisuuyi would need and on her next legal delivery she pumped a full delivery from Vaghela back over her head to the long-off rope for Uganda’s first boundary of the chase. Before long, there would be plenty more. Having crept along to 34 for 2 by the 10-over drinks break, Nakisuuyi finally unleashed her full fury against Jivana Aras in the 12^th, smashing the first legal ball of the over over wide long-on 10 yards past the rope for six. An overcorrection going too short later in the over resulted in Nakisuuyi cutting behind point for four as part of a 14-run over. Another 14 runs came off Vaghela in the 13^th as a straight drive from Nakisuuyi split long-on and long-off for four before a sliced edge split Sriharsha and Aras at short third for another boundary. Suddenly, the equation was down to a far more manageable run a ball with seven overs to go. 
 
After three overs of disciplined bowling, Nampiina went on the attack in the 17^th, striking two boundaries off of Ritu Singh’s offspin before Nakisuuyi let loose with her full fury against Jessica Willathgamuwa in the 18^th. A full ball was driven past Dhingra at extra cover for a boundary before pulling a short ball wide of Vaghela at deep midwicket for a one bounce four. One ball later, she cleared Dhingra again in the off side ring to make it a hat-trick of fours. A single ended a 14-run over and leveled the scores before a flick through square leg two balls into the 19^th ended the match, capping off a 102-run unbroken partnership between the best friends for Uganda. While Nakisuuyi got the post-match presentation honors for her star-studded knock, Nampiina finished her sidekick role with 33 not out off 27 balls. 
 
Kodali finished with 1 for 12 in 3.2 overs while Vaghela ended with 1 for 22 in three. Aditi Chudasama was arguably USA’s best bowler on the night after returning 0 for 10 in four overs, raising question marks as to why USA went into the match with a pace heavy attack after Uganda mostly struggled against her style of spin bowling. By contrast, Willathgamuwa ended with 0 for 20 in two while Aras conceded 0 for 17 in two. Singh was USA’s joint-most expensive bowler finishing with 0 for 20 in two as well. Suhani Thadani returned 0 for 10 in her two overs. 
 
Whereas Uganda had four double-digit impact overs, all in the second half of their chase, USA struggled to build any momentum after choosing to bat first at the toss. It was only in the final over when they recorded their first frame of 10 runs or more, and by then it was too late. USA’s issues in the Powerplay continued on Saturday as Disha Dhingra recorded seven dots across her first nine deliveries before cutting a boundary through point off Concy Aweko in the second. However, USA wound up once again failing to score off more than 50% of their deliveries in the opening six-over sequence, accumulating a total of 19 dot balls. 
 
Anika Kolan could have easily been runout for 5 in the fourth over after a mixup with Dhingra resulted in both batters being at the same end, but a rushed throw from backward point by Nampiina at the bowler’s end went wide to allow Kolan to get back. She wound up adding just three more runs to her total though as an aggressive attempt to sweep after walking all the way past her stumps resulted in Kolan being bowled behind her legs by Sarah Walaza’s medium pace for 8 to make it 25 for 1 in the fifth. 
 
Singh was sent in at No. 3, ostensibly as a pinch-hitter, but crawled to 9 off 21 balls, which included surviving a missed runout chance on 9 by wicketkeeper Kevin Awino hustling out from behind the stumps to deny an attempted tap and run single. Dhingra could not convert another promising start, getting out for 25 off 24 balls in the eighth when she tried to cut a delivery off middle stump and was bowled by left-arm spinner Sarah Akiteng to make it 41 for 2. 
 
Sriharsha joined Singh and played her trademark array of late cuts and sweeps, but struggled to reach the boundary on a sluggish outfield. Her only four came courtesy of a pull behind square that was misfielded by Akiteng at short fine leg. Singh was eventually dismissed for 16 off 29 balls after a pull off Nakisuuyi was dropped at midwicket by Rita Musamali, though Musamali recovered to relay to Nakisuuyi over the bowler’s stumps for a runout after Singh ran on contact. Sriharsha fell two overs later in the 17^th for 26, failing to clear Musamali at midwicket with a pull off of Aweko to make it 89 for 4. 
 
USA started to shift into run on anything mode and it resulted in the runout of Kodali for 2 in the 18^th as a single to mid-on turned chaotic following a misfielded relay back to the bowler, only for the ball to trickle to Iloku at extra cover who relayed to Awino behind the stumps with Kodali nowhere in the frame trying to pinch a second run. Gargi Bhogle could have easily been runout three balls later after being sent back by Vaghela on a straight drive back to Akiteng, whose shy from seven yards went wide. Bhogle managed to capitalize by paddling a boundary through fine leg in USA’s 11-run 20^th over and ended 19 not out off 16 balls. Vaghela finished 5 not out off 9 balls. 
 
Akiteng finished with 1 for 18 in her four overs while Walaza bowled four straight with the new ball to end with 1 for 19. Former Uganda captain Aweko’s figures wound up distorted by the final over as she returned 1 for 28 after three good overs earlier in play. Nakisuuyi ended with 0 for 25 in four in spite of a dropped chance while captain Janet Mbabazi returned economical figures of 0 for 20 in four. 
 
In the day’s other match in Group A, Sri Lanka smashed Scotland by 10 wickets. Spinner Kaveesha Dilhari was named Player of the Match after returning career-best figures of 4 for 13 to help bowl Scotland out for 94 in 18.2 overs. Chamari Athapaththu then produced a bruising half-century, finishing unbeaten on 59 off 35 balls while Vishmi Gunaratne struck 24 not out off 26 balls including the winning single off the first ball of the 11^thover. 
 
USA returns to action on Monday at 3 pm when they will take on Scotland at Tolerance Oval.