T20 WC 2021: SCO vs NAM Review – Dominant Namibia secure first Super 12 win

Namibia’s dream run in the Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 continued as they won their first Super 12 match against Scotland at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. Scotland had a disappointing day with the bat, but Namibia pounced on that and managed to get two crucial points. It was a slightly tense chase, but the better team on the day won.

Earlier in the day, Namibia won the toss and elected to bowl first. Scotland lost three wickets in the very first over to Ruben Trumpelmann. That initial hiccup changed their approach to the game as they failed to accelerate at the right time. They were even 18 for 4 at one point. However, Michael Leask’s 27-ball 44 and Chris Greaves’ 32-ball 25 helped Scotland reach a total of 109 for 8.

Jan Frylinck also bowled a terrific spell taking two wickets for 10 runs for Namibia. David Wiese and JJ Smit each picked up a scalp. In the chase, Craig Williams and Michael van Lingen made 23 and 18 runs respectively. Wiese made 16 but it was the knock of JJ Smit which took Namibia home with just five balls to spare. They ended up winning by four wickets.

Top performers:

Ruben Trumpelmann:

It is safe to say that the left-arm seamer destroyed the Scottish batting unit by taking three wickets in the very first over of the match. The loss was quite heavy and they didn’t manage to recover from that. He also managed to give only 17 runs in his four overs. His scalps were George Munsey, Calum MacLeod and Richie Berrington.

JJ Smit: He bowled a really good spell during Namibia’s innings and gave only 20 runs from four overs. He also managed a crucial wicket of Michael Leask, who was the highest scorer for Scotland. Later on, his knock of 32 runs from 23 balls guided their team to a win.

Achievement/records:

• Namibia won their first-ever game they played in the T20 World Cup main round.
• Scotland’s 17 runs at the death is the third-lowest score in the last four overs of a T20 World Cup game.

Way ahead:

Namibia will now take on Afghanistan on October 31. Meanwhile, we will see Scotland now face New Zealand on November 03.