In a thrilling encounter, Scotland won against Namibia with 5 wickets. The Scotland took revenge of 2021 T20 WC defeat and where pumped up with their performance against a spirited Eagles Namibia.
Pitch And Toss Factor
Kensington Oval is very well known for its pace and seam ranking among the West Indies’ fastest tracks. Fast bowlers gain early assistance from the new ball, with notable expected seam movement.
Namibia winning the toss elected to bat first to set a good score to defend.
Namibia Sets a Moderate Total
Namibia’s first innings against Scotland was a struggle for momentum. Although Namibia’s batting against Scotland had a few notable performances, yet the team overall struggled.
The opening partnership did not work as JP Kotze was dismissed for a duck. While Nikolaas Davin made a quick 20 off 12 balls, hitting four boundaries with Jan Frylinck adding 12 runs from 14 balls, a solid start from Nmabia was missing as both batsmen departed quite early.
Captain Gerhard Erasmus was the standout player who scored 52 off 31 balls with five fours and two sixes along with Zane Green’s 28 off 27 balls, and David Wiese added 14 from 13 balls. The lower order did not offer a strong finish with Ruben Trumpelmann and JJ Smit walking to the dugout in no time.
Bernard Scholtz (6 not out) and Tangeni Lungameni (0 not out) were unbeaten at the end that brought Namibia to a total of 155 for 9 in their 20 overs.
Scotland’s Bowlers Shine
Scotland’s bowlers put in a solid performance against Namibia. Brad Wheal was the standout with 3 wickets for 33 runs in his 4 overs. Brad Currie was economical conceding just 16 runs and picking up 2 wickets in his 4-over spell with Chris Sole contributing with a wicket, giving away 23 runs in 3 overs.
Chris Greaves was effective as well, taking 1 wicket for 24 runs in his 3 overs along with Michael Leask chipping in with a wicket, giving up 16 runs in his 2 overs. The bowlers did well to manage to restrict Namibia to 155 for 9 in their 20 overs.
Scotland’s Strong Chase
Scotland’s batting was a mix of solid and explosive performances. George Munsey started cautiously, scoring 7 runs off 15 balls before being caught off Lungameni’s bowling. Michael Jones contributed 26 runs from 20 balls, hitting three fours and one six with Brandon McMullen adding 19 runs from 17 balls, with two boundaries.
Captain Richie Berrington played a key role, remaining not out with 47 runs off 35 balls along with Michael Leask’s quick-fire 35 runs off just 17 balls. Their knocks gave Scotland enough chance to chase down the total of 156 with ease.
Namibia’s Costly Bowling Attack
Although the Namibian bowlers got wickets, they gave away so many runs that at last proved to be a winning factor for the opposite team.
Ruben Trumpelmann, Tangeni Lungameni, Bernard Scholtz, and Gerhard Erasmus all took wickets at crucial points except for David Wiese. But the explosive Scotland batting managed to take away enough runs to chase down the total.
What’s Ahead?
With this win Scotland got very important points to move ahead in the tournament. they will face Oman on 9th June with confidence.
For Namibia, this loss sets them back as they will face the mighty Australia in the next match on 12th June.