Featuring in their third T20 World Cup, Namibia opted to bowl first on a tricky surface against Oman in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, at the Kensington Oval. The decision proved worthy as the left-arm pacer Ruben Trumpelmann was right on the money from the first ball of the innings and trapped Kashyap Prajapati and Naseem Khushi. This meant that he scripted history by becoming the only bowler in the history of T20Is to have picked two wickets in the first two balls of a match.
Thereafter, Trumpelmann ran riot with his bowling spell and went on to pick a four-wicket haul. Notably, he picked up three wickets in the powerplay stage to rattle the Omani batting lineup. For the Middle East side, Zeeshan Maqsood (22 off 20) and Khalid Kail (34 off 39) showed some resistance. As a result, in what turned out to be a low-scoring humdinger, Namibia skittled Oman out for a paltry 109 runs.
In reply, Oman's Bilal Khan gave his side an apt start by cleaning up Michael van Lingen in the second ball of the run chase. However, Nikolaas Davin and Jan Frylinck showed composure and played sensibly to take the game deep for Namibia. But then out of the blue, the giant killers got themselves into a self-destructive mode and panicked in the last over when they just needed five runs to seal the game. However, Mehran Khan kept Oman in the hunt with his magnificent spell of three overs where he just conceded seven runs including a maiden to claim a 3-wicket haul.
The Super Over nailbiter after 11 years in T20 World Cup
Fans got every penny of their money invested on the T20 World Cup ticket as Oman versus Namibia took a wild turn in the fag stages of the game and both teams ended up going into a Super Over. Notably, this was the first Super Over in the T20 World Cup after 2012. In the tie-breaker, Namibia's David Wiese, who initially was not having a good day at the office, showed his cricketing prowess as he made a sensational comeback, first with his 3-wicket haul and then single-handedly taking the game away from Oman in the Super Over.
Notably, Gerhard Erasmus and David Wiese walked out to bat for Namibia in the tie-breaker. Surprisingly, instead of Mehran Khan, Bilal was handed the bowl by Oman to ensure tight bowling, but David Weise starred with the bat when it mattered the most as he smacked him to display his power-hitting and scored 13 runs. Consequently, Namibia set a difficult target of 22 runs. But Wiese took the onus on him with the ball yet again and allowed Oman to score only 10 runs and claimed the wicket of Naseem Khushi to lead his side to victory by 11 runs.
Meanwhile, here is what Captains said after the Oman vs Namibia nailbiter:
Winning Captain, Gerhard Erasmus: (Tricky pitch?) It was tough to sum it up and get momentum. We tried that with running between the wickets but you felt you needed that odd boundary. Unfortunately we couldn't do that, and we need to take accountability for that before the next game. (Jittery batting) It was a tough one on a tough wicket like that. It showed in the Super Over that if you put pressure there will be some scoring opportunity. (Super Over) We haven't had one in a competition game. Great to be part of. Winning a close game early breaks the duck and brings you into the tournament. Experienced everything in this game."
Losing Captain, Aqib Ilyas: (enjoyed the game?) Yeah we could've enjoyed the game if we would've won, but still results... you know... losing and winning is part of cricket. We were maybe 15-20 short. We had already discussed this wicket was on the turning side. That's where we short. (Super Over, had a plan?) I think Bilal is one of the best bowlers you can have in Associate and this level. But there are days where you plan and it doesn't execute. He was clear, we were clear, but maybe the ball was wet and he couldn't execute. Some days it is your day, some days it goes the opposite way."
David Wiese, POTM: "Aged a couple of years tonight. Don't have a lot of years left in me (laughs). Emotionally draining evening. (Batting and bowling in Super over) It helped that I had a feel of the game and knew if I get a few hits out in the Super Over .... then with the ball, felt like taking the ball and executing. Pitch was difficult, didn't play the way we thought. But we adapted well. It was two-paced, it was a difficult wicket to get yourself in. Definitely one you needed to spend a bit of time before capitalising. (Target) Difficult to gauge a good target because if you're chasing 180 then you're playing differently. But when you let them bowl the way they did, you bring them back into the game. Lots of learnings from this game."
from Cricket News: Today's Top news and headlines from cricket world | CricTracker.com https://ift.tt/hjCGJg9