Highlight
On Friday, New Zealand defeated Namibia by 52 runs in Sharjah.
As a result of this victory, New Zealand has moved into second place in Group 2.
NZ’s thrashing of Namibia moves them closer to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup.
In Sharjah on Friday, New Zealand beat Namibia by 52 runs thanks to Glenn Philips and Jimmy Neesham’s game-changing partnership on a difficult surface.
New Zealand beat Namibia by 52 runs in a Super 12 game here on Friday and remained on course for a semifinal berth in the T20 World Cup thanks to a game-changing partnership between Glenn Philips and Jimmy Neesham. Phillips (39 not out off 21 balls) and Neesham (35 not out off 23 balls) hit some late-innings heroics to help New Zealand post 163 for four and restrict the opposition to 111/7. Tim Southee (2/15), Trent Boult (2/20), Mitchell Santner (1/20), Ish Sodhi (1/22), and Jimmy Neesham (1/6) all took wickets for New Zealand in their innings.
Additionally, the Kiwis climbed to second place in the standings, with six points and a net run rate of +1.277, thanks to the victory. On Sunday, they face Afghanistan in a potential quarterfinal. Stephen Baard (21) and Michael van Lingen (25) shared a 47-run partnership for the first wicket in Namibia’s chase of 164.
After both openers were bowled out by Neesham and Santner, New Zealand had Namibia on 51/2 in the eighth over when Santner castled Baard, a 29-year-old slow left-arm orthodox bowler. Gerhard Erasmus (3) was cheaply replaced by Leggie Sodhi in order to tighten Namibia’s grip on the game.
In the 15th over, experienced pacer Southee caught David Wiese in front of the crease to end any remaining hopes of the opposition. Before Phillips and Neesham took the Namibian attack to the cleaners, New Zealand surpassed the 150-point mark, which seemed impossible at first.
Despite being in trouble at 87/4, the Kiwis’ comeback was made possible thanks to the devastating bowling of Phillips and Neesham. In just 36 balls, the pair scored 76 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket. Phillips smashed four and three sixes, while Neesham smashed a boundary and two maximums. Using Phillips and Neesham, the New Zealanders scored 53 runs in the final three overs of their innings.
Martin Guptill, New Zealand’s opening batsman, was dismissed in the fifth over by Ruben Trumpelmann off David Wiese (1/40) for 18. It was a maximum for Guptill over long-on against left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz (1/15).
Daryl Mitchell (19) hit his first boundary in the fourth over, straight down the ground off Johannes Smit, as the Kiwis reached 30/0 in four overs. The Kiwis, on the other hand, had both of their openers sent to the dressing room by Namibia.
In the first two overs, Wiese and Scholtz broke the Kiwi’s 30-run first-innings stand by dismissing Guptill and Mitchell respectively, as the Kiwis fell to 43/2. The 38-run partnership between captain Kane Williamson (28) and Devon Conway (17) then attempted to revive the innings.
In the 11th over, Williamson pounded leg-spinner Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton for a maximum and a four. After 81/3, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson was caught by leg-spinner Gerhard Erasmus in the 13th over.
87/4 quickly became the final score as Conway was also knocked out. After a sluggish start, Phillips and Neesham stepped up their game in the 18th over, scoring 21 runs from Wiese.
