With the 36th and 37th matches of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup underway, the equations for Group 2’s second semi-finalists are set. While Indian men completely thrashed their Scottish opponents, the first match saw some fightback by the underdogs, Namibia, against New Zealand. The fixture settled in Kiwi’s favor (a win by 52 runs), but Namibia displayed a disciplined performance for the first 16 overs of the game.
Namibian bowlers’ efforts went downhill in death overs
Yesterday, the ground made the New Zealand batters’ efforts more difficult due to its slow nature. They had to play Namibia’s bowling inside the Powerplay defensively, costing them heavily. Nevertheless, the defensive shot percentage of 19% was up remarkably from an average of 4% across their opening three World Cup games, a predicament of how clinical Namibia were with the ball.
Namibian Skipper made the right decisions in the field and accordingly removed his Kiwi counterpart, Kane Williamson. A growing concern for New Zealand going forward will be Williamson’s ineffectiveness in the World Cup. He has played 16 T20 World Cup matches during his career, and he’s been able to register just one 50+ score in that time. This match’s slow innings did not help the case either (28 runs off 25 balls).
It was the death overs where Namibia lost track of everything. The pair of Glenn Phillips and Jimmy Neesham went bonkers (76 off 35 balls) and pushed their team total above 160, which was looking to end in the 130ish range before the 17th over commenced. Unfortunately, and this has been a regular occurrence in the Namibian camp, they had to suffer due to their inability to take wickets in the middle overs (7-12). They’ve taken just seven wickets in that phase, averaging a wicket every 35 balls this tournament.
Kiwis prevail despite a valiant Namibian effort
Namibia registered their highest Powerplay score of 36-0 of the Super 12s, as well as the first occurrence where they’ve not lost a wicket inside the opening six overs throughout the entire T20 World Cup. A steady but slow start of 47 runs off 44 balls by SJ Baard and M van Lingen looked dangerous, but Neesham struck again, this time with the ball. This marked the Kiwi counterattack from which Namibia never recovered.
Ish Sodhi, who for the fourth successive match struck in his first over, Tim Southee, and every bowler from New Zealand continued their successful streak of economical bowling and made the Namibian chase look like Everest.
Conclusion
Jimmy Neesham was rightfully adjudged as the Player of the Match for his lone wicket and his unmissable effort with the bat (35 runs off 25 balls). Namibia displayed well-round bowling till the 16th over, but their over-reliance on pace cost them dearly.
Of all the Super 12 teams, Namibia have used the least overs of spin, which was the case yesterday as well. The last game remains for them now, and that too against the now in-form India. Namibia have their hands full, as India are on the lookout for a huge win to enter the semi-finals.
New Zealand couldn’t have asked for a win with such a margin, which they are very well aware will come into play NRR wise. A giant leap in NRR would have been better, but they will look to not rely on this and clinch the win against Afghanistan, shutting off the door for the other contenders.