Namibia opened their T20 World Cup with a hard-fought victory over Oman in a Super Over at Kensington Oval on Sunday. Both teams finished their respective overs on 109, engaging in a tension-packed Super Over.
Namibia’s Trumpelmann Puts Oman Team on the Back Foot
Namibia won the toss and put Oman into bat first, with their pace bowler Trumpelmann bringing his A-game on the first ball. The pacer’s scorching yorker trapped opener Kashyap Prajapati dead in front of the stumps with the first ball, giving Namibia the perfect start.
Trumpelmann then bowled skipper Aqib Ilyas with another whole, fast delivery, leaving Oman in tatters at 0-2. Trumpelmann settled into his rhythm and bagged his third wicket in his second over when Naseem Khushi was caught at mid-off by Gerhard Erasmus.
Oman Rebuilding Through Maqsood, But Hard to Generate Momentum
In the form of their experienced campaigner, Zeeshan Maqsood, some stability came to Oman during the powerplay, holding the innings together and scoring quickly to be around a run a ball. However, Namibia got the much-needed breakthrough as Bernard Scholtz sent Maqsood packing in the seventh over as the latter was adjudged leg-before to put Oman in more trouble.
Scholtz, along with Erasmus, maintained the line and length to perfection as Oman’s lower-middle order failed to take advantage of the variation in pace. The duo kept it tight with wickets at crucial intervals to prevent the Oman batters from breaking free, and indeed, the Asian side could not manage a single boundary from the 10th to the 17th over.
Oman’s surge proved a shade too late as Khalid Kail flared towards the end with some lusty blows, making 34 off 39 balls before being dismissed by David Wiese. And with the Namibian pacers pecking away, Oman sought the acceleration at the death. But Wiese and Trumpelmann kept nibbling at the tail, and eventually, Oman was bowled out for 109 runs before they could finish their quota of overs.
Wiese Lights Up Nail-biting Super Over
With the scores level, the game moved into a nail-biting Super Over. David Wiese was the hero for Namibia, flexing his muscles by hitting a six and a four off Bilal Khan. Skipper Gerhard Erasmus turned up the ante as he smashed two boundaries for Namibia to set a daunting 21-run target. It is the highest target in a men’s ICC T20 World Cup Super Over thus far.
Tasked with defending the total in the Super Over, Wiese showed his worth again. He used up just ten runs and took one key wicket, which ensured Namibia scraped through to a hard-fought 11-run victory in a thrilling encounter.
The game was the first Super Over in a men’s T20 World Cup game since 2012, proving that life might be paved for another eventuality of last-gasp heroics in the short game. This left Namibia on tenterhooks with the result, and Oman will have to regroup and learn from the near miss as they continue their World Cup journey.
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