New Zealand vs Uganda Prediction: Black Caps’ time to shine

New Zealand and Uganda face off in a match with little meaning now that both nations have been effectively eliminated from the T20 World Cup.

Back-to-back defeats have left the Black Caps in an impossible position and Uganda are similarly too far behind Afghanistan and the West Indies in Group C. Read on for my New Zealand vs Uganda preview.

New Zealand vs Uganda Odds

New Zealand are 1/66 to win the game and avoid further tournament embarrassment, with a Uganda victory priced at 25/1.

The Black Caps are available at 1/28 to hit the most sixes in the match, while the Kiwis are priced at 3/10 to have the Highest 1 Overs Score.

Uganda Fall of First Wicket - Under 10.5 @ 1/1

First-time qualifiers Uganda have proven much more competitive with the ball than the bat, taking five West Indies and Afghanistan wickets while also skittling Papua New Guinea out for just 77.

But their totals of 58 against Afghanistan and 39 against the co-hosts show how much further they have to come to be able to live with the established cricketing powers.

Uganda’s top order has looked badly out of its depth, with no batter above the position of four reaching double figures in any of their matches so far.

Their opening stands in the three Group C games they have played have been worth four, one and zero runs, so few will be expecting the Ugandan openers to get many against the Kiwis on Saturday.

New Zealand Fall of First Wicket - Over 29.5 @ 5/6

New Zealand have struggled for runs in this tournament too, with many now highlighting the fact that they played no warm-up matches in the days leading up to the event.

Their collapse to 108-8 chasing 150 to win against the West Indies was very unlike a team who have become known for their consistent performances in white-ball cricket.

Saturday’s game gives them a chance to put that right and there can no longer be any excuses about being ‘under done’ any more.

Uganda’s bowling unit has been a positive for them, but they could not break a century stand from Afghanistan's openers in their first match, while the West Indies’ opening duo of Brandon King and Johnson Charles put on 41 for the first wicket.

The prospects of the Kiwis opening pair putting on 30 or more look good for this contest in Trinidad, where Afghanistan reached 101/3 in pursuit of 97 to win against Papua New Guinea a couple of days ago.

Finn Allen - New Zealand Top Run Scorer @ 12/5

Given the New Zealand openers are expected to make hay in this one-sided contest, it is probably worth siding with Finn Allen over Devon Conway to be the Kiwis’ top batter.

Allen made 26 off 23 balls against the co-hosts in New Zealand’s second game and looked to be in much better touch than Conway, who was caught top-edging a sweep shot for just five off eight deliveries.

Conway scratched around for eight off 10 balls against Afghanistan in their opening match and has seen his T20 international batting average fall from 48.75 to 37.52 since the start of 2023.

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