Namibia Clinches Super Over Win Against Oman in T20 World Cup
4 min read
David Wiese’s heroics with bat and ball in the Super Over helped Namibia begin their T20 World Cup campaign with a win in a low-scoring thrilling contest here at the Kensington Oval on Sunday. Oman’s comeback in the last overs was in vain.
After smashing thirteen in the Super Over and returning to bowl, taking a wicket, and defending twenty-one runs, Wiese became the unsung hero for Namibia with both bat and ball. Namibia did not have it easy, though, as the match ended in a draw, the first Super Over in a men’s T20 World Cup competition since 2012. Namibia had reduced Oman to 109 in 20 overs.
Bilal Khan gave Oman the perfect start by dismissing opener Michael van Lingen for a duck on the opening ball of the innings, while the team was defending 110. The bounce was not steady early in the chase, which made it difficult for Nikolaas Davin and Jan Frylinck to play their strokes.
Namibia Battles Through Spin to Secure Thrilling Win
At the end of the first powerplay, Namibia was 32/1. The ball was then slowed down by medium pacers and spinners, according to captain Aqib Ilyas.
The pair kept onto their wickets in spite of many smashes and misses, and Namibia ended the powerplay at 32/1. When the runs ran out, Davin tried to mimic Aqib’s spin. Davin smashed seven straight dot balls before hitting Aqib for a six. On the other side, the cunning spinner got his retribution by getting Davin caught by Mohammad Nadeem on the very next delivery.
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The middle overs saw Namibia’s scoring pace halted by the controlled spin of Aqib and Zeeshan Maqsood. Gerhard Erasmus, the captain of Namibia, made an effort to control the scoring rate.
Oman missed crucial catches in the nerve-wracking match, but Maqsood ultimately held off Ayaan Khan to dismiss Erasmus for 13 in the fifteenth over. With three overs remaining, the set Frylinck grabbed the initiative and struck a flurry of boundaries to put the asking rate up to par.
In his superb eighteenth over, Mehran Khan removed JJ Smit from the game and gave up just four byes. With a six from David Wiese in the nineteenth over, the equation was reduced to five off the last over.
Wiese’s Heroics Secure Namibia’s World Cup Opener
In the first three balls of the last over, Mehran, who had only conceded four runs in the previous two overs, took three wickets after bowling Frylinck and trapping Zane Green for a leg before. Ultimately, it came down to a one-on-one match between the sly Mehran and the belligerent Wiese. Though Wiese was unable to make contact, the ball was mishandled by the wicketkeeper, giving the batsman a bye. In a Super Over, the game was over.
Namibia dominated the Super Over after struggling to chase down five runs in the last over of an unending chase. Experienced all-rounder Wiese showed off his power hitting skills by blasting four and sixes against Bilal Khan, and then captain Gerhard Erasmus blasted two fours. In a men’s T20 World Cup match, Namibia amassed the highest total in a Super Over with 21 runs.
After being chosen to bowl the Super Over for Namibia, Wiese proved to be a skilled bowler. He picked up a wicket and conceded just 10 runs as Namibia won the Super Over by 11 runs, making a winning start to their World Cup campaign.
Prior to this, Trumpelmann’s speed attack stunned Oman by claiming three wickets in the powerplay. The pacer then claimed his fourth wicket of the game and finished with a 4-21 record. Captain Erasmus claimed two wickets with his superb bowling, and veteran bowler David Wiese claimed three wickets at a cost of 28 runs in 3.4 overs.
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Trumpelmann’s Early Blitz Sets Tone for Namibia’s Dominant Performance
Choosing to bowl first, Ruben Trumpelmann took the early strike, catching Oman opener Kashyap Prajapati for LBW with a brilliant yorker on his opening delivery.
The hitter was out of the game for a duck when Trumpelmann hit another stunning yorker that took Oman captain Aqib Ilyas off surprise.
When Naseem Khushi tried to push the left-arm pacer down the track in his second over, he only found Erasmus at mid-off. This gave the left-arm pacer a third. During the first powerplay, Oman’s innings were steady and the scoring rate increased to run a ball thanks to the solid play of veteran Zeeshan Maqsod.
Scholtz and Wiese Throttle Oman’s Charge in Tense World Cup Clash
But in the seventh over, Bernard Scholtz got him leg before wicket, further putting Oman behind. The bowling discipline of the spinner prevented Oman’s lower order from exploiting the difference in pace.
Even as Oman hitters struggled to get the ball past the inner circle, Scholtz and Erasmus kept turning double plays for the Eagles.
Between the 10th and 17th overs, Oman faced 44 deliveries without managing to hit a single boundary. Then, after scoring 34 runs in 39 balls, Khalid Kail led Oman’s surge as the batsman hammered powerful strokes before falling victim to David Wiese.
The Asian team tried to increase the scoring rate as Namibian pacers entered the game in the final overs, but Trumpelmann and David Wiese nibbled away at the end, bowling Oman out before they could finish their allotted number of overs.
