T20 World Cup 2021: Namibia thump Ireland by 8 wickets to qualify for Super 12 

Skipper Gerhard Erasmus (53* off 49) played a captain’s knock as Namibia stunned Ireland by eight wickets to qualify for the Super 12 round of the T20 World Cup 2021. Chasing 126 in match number 11 in Sharjah, Namibia gunned down the target in 18.3 overs as David Wiese (28* off 14) played another blinder of a cameo.

After their bowlers did exceptionally well to restrict Ireland to 125 for 8, Namibia got off to a confident start in their chase, reaching 25 for no loss after five overs. Craig Williams, in particular, was looking dangerous, having crunched three fours.

Curtis Campher gave Ireland hope by dismissing Williams for 15. The Namibia opener tried to loft him over mid-on but could not get the elevation right. Kevin O'Brien timed his jump perfectly and plucked an excellent catch.

Mark Adair then rapped Namibia skipper Erasmus on the pads with a fuller ball. The umpire was unmoved and Ireland did not review. Replays showed that the ball would have crashed into the stumps. To add to Ireland’s woes, Adair walked off, facing some trouble with his side. However, the bowling side managed to strangle Namibia’s scoring as they reached 49 for 1 at the halfway stage.

After the break, Erasmus and Zane Green ran hard between wickets as the boundaries were hard to come by. The dry spell was broken at the start of the 13th over as Erasmus scythed Joshua Little past backward point for a four. The over ended with another boundary as Erasmus smartly guided a back-of-a-length ball into the gap between backward point and third man. At 71 for 1, Namibia seemed to be in control of the chase.

For the second time in the game, Campher and O'Brien combined to lift Ireland. Green (24) jumped down the track and tried to hit Campher over mid-off. Yet again, O'Brien timed his jump and pulled off a good catch.

David Wiese came in and clobbered two sixes off Craig Young in the 15th over to put Namibia on top. The first was slapped high to wide long-on. O'Brien again leapt and even got his fingertips to it, but couldn’t prevent the ball from sailing over the ropes. The next ball was slammed over midwicket with ease as Young bowled too short and allowed Wiese to open his arms.

There was a massive bit of bad luck for Ireland in the same over. A good length ball to Erasmus hit the stumps but the bails refused to come off. In desperation, Ireland skipper went for a caught behind review but to no avail.

Namibia went into the last three overs needing 21. The second ball of the over, Erasmus danced down the track and lifted Simi Singh over his head for a maximum with elegance. He brought up a memorable fifty in the next over, carving Young over extra cover for four.

Wiese put Namibia in the Super 12 by punching a full and wide delivery over cover for a boundary.

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Brilliant Namibia restrict Ireland to 125 for 8

Namibia celebrate the fall of a wicket. Pic: T20WorldCup/ Twitter

Namibia came up with an excellent bowling effort to restrict Ireland to 125 for 8 after losing the toss. Ireland got off to a confident start as Paul Stirling (38) and Kevin O'Brien (25) added 62 for the opening wicket after a brisk pace. However, once the pair was separated, Namibia’s bowlers gained control of proceedings. Jan Frylinck was brilliant with 3 for 21 while Wiese ended with 2 for 22.

Stirling provided the much-needed momentum for Ireland at the start of the innings. In the third over, he punched JJ Smit over wide mid-on for a maximum. Stirling then smashed three fours off the next over from Bernard Scholtz. The first two were lofted over extra cover with ease while the third was swept behind square leg.

O'Brien joined the act by smacking Frylinck for a couple of boundaries in the sixth over. At the end of the powerplay, Ireland were well-placed at 55 for no loss. Scholtz gave Namibia the big breakthrough as Stirling’s hoick landed in the hands of long-on. O'Brien then holed out to deep square leg as his flick off Frylinck went horribly wrong.

Ireland skipper Andy Balbirnie survived an lbw appeal against Pikky Ya France early in his innings. Namibia did not take the review, and replays later showed that Balbirnie would have been back in the dugout. The missed chance did not hurt Namibia much though, as they kept pegging Ireland back with wickets.

Gareth Delany (9) was cleaned up by an off-cutter from Wiese as he completely missed his slog. Balbirnie’s innings ended on 21 as he missed a full delivery from Frylinck that was angling in and was hit in front of the stumps. A review could not save him. Curtis Campher (4) perished in the same over, clean bowled attempting a big hit.

Three more wickets fell in the last three overs as Ireland’s innings went from bad to worse. From 94 for 2 in the 15th over, they slipped to 125 for 8 by the end of the 20th.

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Namibia vs Ireland: Who won Player of the Match in today’s T20 World Cup 2021 match?

For Namibia, Frylinck stood out with figures of 3 for 21. He rocked Ireland’s innings by sending back O'Brien, Balbirnie and Campher. Wiese made an impact again, claiming 2 for 22. He also starred in the chase with a quickfire 28*. Namibia skipper Erasmus stood tall, scoring a defiant half-century to guide the chase.

Stirling was the top run-scorer for Ireland. On a surface where the other batters from the team found the going difficult, he smashed 38 off 24. O'Brien chipped in with a quick 25 with and two catches. Campher (2/14) was the only bowler to make an impact for Ireland.

Wiese was named Player of the Match for his splendid all-round show.