Namibia became the fourth team to qualify the World 2020 to be played in Australia as they cruised to dominating 54 run win in the 2nd playoff match played at Dubai International Stadium, Dubai on Tuesday.
Namibia captain MG Erasmus won the toss and decided to bat first. It was not an ideal start as Stephen Baard was dismissed off very first ball from Bilal Khan bowling. Nikolaas Davin played with positive intent and took on Oman bowlers. Bilal Khan struck again getting the wicket with a slower one which bowled him. Before the end of power play over, Aamir Kaleem produced brilliant low catch to dismiss Davin for 21. Namibia ended on 36 for 3 in 6 overs.
After the power play overs, Oman bowlers kept a tight line and length to leave Namibia in big trouble at 69 for 5. JJ Smits and Williams came together with positive intent showing their class putting pressure on Oman bowlers. JJ Smits was simply sensational which changed the momentum of innings. Both Namibia batsmen was severe on Oman spinners and pacers also. JJ Smits provide the impetus reaching his fifty off just 20 balls. Bilal Khan got the wickets of Williams and JJ Smits in the same over. Williams and JJ Smits added 83 runs for the 6th wicket. Namibia scored 161 for 7 in 20 overs.
Chasing down 162 runs to win, Oman were dealt a major blow as their star batsman Jatinder Singh was dismissed off the 2nd ball. Khawar Ali and Aqib Ilyas took on Namibia bowlers hitting boundaries with ease. Both ensured that Oman were well ahead of the required run rate. At the end of 6 overs, Oman were placed at 57 for 1.
After the power play overs, BM Scholtz got the breakthrough for Namibia as dismissed Aqib for 18. Khawar and Aqib added 57 runs for the 2nd wicket. Erasmus and Scholtz did most of the damage as kept on picking wickets at regular intervals. From 58 for 1, Namibia reduced Oman to 79 for 5. It was a brilliant bowling effort by Namibia as they bowled out Oman for 107 in 19.1 overs.
With this win, Namibia have qualified for their maiden T20 World Cup. It has been an impressive performance by the Namibian team who kept belief after such not a great start to the game.
Namibia 161 for 7 in 20 overs ( JJ Smit 59, Williams 45, Bilal Khan 4/19) beat Oman 107 in 19.1 overs ( Khawar Ali 41, BM Scholtz 3/14, MG Erasmus 3/19) by 54 runs.
Both UAE and Oman will have one more chance to qualify for the prestigious tournament. UAE will take on Scotland while Oman will take on Hong Kong in today matches.
