Hello and welcome to Sportstar 's coverage of T20 World Cup 2021 Super 12 match between Pakistan and Namibia from Abu Dhabi.
First team into the last 4 - fifth time off the seven editions that Pakistan will be in the semifinals - a sensational campaign to seal a fourth straight win in the Super 12s. Pakistan's record in the UAE extends to 15 straight T20I wins! Credit to Namibia too, what a campaign this is turning out to be for them. Surely a valiant fight from Erasmus' men and a lot of insights and learnings from here in their auspicious journey up ahead.
NAM 144/5 in 20 overs: Loftie with a single to put Wiese on strike. He runs in two and asks for a new bat with four balls to spare! Well there's some effect to it as he whips Shaheen over mid-wicket for a massive SIX! Short from Shaheen and Wise pulls it to backward square and stands his crease. It's a no-ball and Wiese nicks the free hit to the keeper. Two dots and Pakistan storm into the semifinals!
Afridi to finish.
NAM 128/5 in 19 overs: Wiese clears his front leg and scoops Rauf over the long-off fence for SIX. Rauf keeps it tight in the blockhole and the batters resort to singles.
NAM 116/5 in 18 overs: Wiese tries his luck with a rash swing but gets a leading edge on the ball that lands between backward point and third. Just the five runs from it and Pakistan inch close to a formal spot for the semis.
NAM 111/5 in 17 overs: Rauf to Smit. OUT! Deceives him with the slower ball and Smit slaps it straight to mid-wicket. Wiese cops a quicker one on his head from Rauf. He seems alright but a concussion test in is place. JJ Smit c Fakhar Zaman b Haris Rauf 2 (5b)
NAM 108/4 in 16 overs: Shaheen rolls in a lower full toss and Wiese swats it with one-hand over mid-off for FOUR. Shaheen fires up the speedometer and the batters fall back in line. The chase has gone out of their hands now. 82 needed off four overs.
Shaheen is back
NAM 101/4 in 15 overs: Hundred up for Namibia. Wiese crunches Hasan's bouncer with a slash over point for FOUR. They need to dish out at everything from here on.
NAM 93/4 in 14 overs: Shadab to Williams. OUT! Tosses it up and Williams miscues the slog to long-off! The pressure of the chase gets to him as he slogs at a delivery well away from his reach. An easy grab in the deep for Hasan. Craig Williams c Hasan Ali b Shadab Khan 40 (37b 5x4 1x6)
NAM 84/3 in 13 overs: Imad to Erasmus. OUT! Straight to cover! A dagger to Namibia's heart. Erasmus attempts to punch Imad over covers and lands it straight to the fielder. Right when the chase was gaining steam, Pakistan has struck back. Gerhard Erasmus c Shadab Khan b Imad Wasim 15 (10b 1x4 1x6)
NAM 78/2 in 12 overs: Shadab keeps it flat as Erasmus steps off the crease for a jiffy. He does well to get back in quick time as Rizwan flips the bails. Slower one from Shadab and Erasmus miscues and lobs the ball straight up. Shaheen lands beneath a skier and drops it. It thuds into his left shoulder and he's coughing while standing up. Took him by surprise there. Williams then tonks Shadab over the umpire for FOUR to finish. Namibia is stepping on the aggressor now.
NAM 71/0 in 11 overs: Rauf continues with a nagging line and Williams fails to make room to rotate strike. Just the one run off the over with Williams slashing the final ball to deep cover.
NAM 70/2 in 10 overs: A proactive start for the Namibian skipper. He shimmies down and slaps Shadab over long-off for SIX. Full from Shadab and Erasmus slog sweeps it over mid-wicket for FOUR. Pakistan at this stage: 59/0
NAM 56/2 in 9 overs: Hafeez to Williams. OUT! Baard is run out! Williams pushes the ball to the on-side and shouts for two. Rauf is quick to the ball from the deep and Williams sends his partner back. Baard turns to dive but is caught short by a whisker. Stephan Baard run out (Haris Rauf/†Mohammad Rizwan) 29 (29b 1x4 1x6)
Hafeez up with the ball.
NAM 45/1 in 8 overs: Shadab starts with a flat line. Williams and Baard tread watchfully and deal in singles.
Shadab replaces Rauf
NAM 40/1 in 7 overs: Imad wafts the ball in and beats Williams outside the off-stump. He fends a tad short late in the air and Williams cuts past point for another FOUR.
NAM 34/1 in 6 over: SHOT! Baard dances down to Rauf and picks him off length. He launches a gorgeous flick for SIX to backward square and Rauf is flummoxed by the outcome on a rather quick delivery there.
Rauf into the attack
NAM 24/1 in 5 overs: Fine start for Imad. He attacks the stumps from the onset and gives no room to the batters to exploit. Namibia cannot afford to have a stiff Powerplay like Pakistan but Babar's bowlers have on point from ball one.
Imad replaces Shaheen
NAM 23/1 in 4 overs: Hasan goes full and Baard leans into the drive and picks up three runs. Hasan follows up with a quick bouncer targeted at the shoulders and Baard attempts to evade it. The ball thuds his gloves and rushes down to fine leg in FOUR even as Baard winces in pain.
NAM 14/1 in 3 overs: Shaheen continues to trouble Baard with the extra zip. He offers width for once and Baard caresses it through point for FOUR.
NAM 8/1 in 2 overs: Hasan to van Lingen. OUT! Cleans him up with a beauty! van Lingen is beaten with the pace and prodigious swing as the ball hits low on the off-stump. Craig Williams in at 3. Ali starts with a bouncer outside off before cutting Williams in half with a sharp nip-backer. Michael van Lingen b Hasan Ali 4 (2b 1x4)
Hasan Ali from the opposite end
NAM 7/0 in 1 overs: The first ball passes Baard's blade like lightning. He reacts almost as Shaheen's away-swinger reaches Rizwan's gloves. Baard swiftyl gets off strike with a single and van Lingen opens the boundary count with a wristy flick to the mid-wicket fence.
Baard on strike. Van Lingen's at the non-striker's.
The chase is on. Namibian openers walk out to the centre. Babar's men follow with purpose and Shaheen is set to take the new ball.
PAK 189/2 in 20 overs: Smit to Rizwan: 4, 6, 4, 4, 4, 2! What a turnaround for Rizwan, what a second-half for Pakistan! From 59/0 in 10 overs, they rack u 130 in the last 60 balls. His supreme year continues as he nears the magical 1000-run mark in the format. And all of those hard yards helps him to see through a tacky start and go bonkers towards the finish.
PAK 165/2 in 19 overs: FIFTY for Rizwan! Wiese errs by slanting a full toss to the pads. Rizwan slashes it over mid-wicket for SIX!
PAK 155/2 in 18 overs: Proper carnage from Pakistan! Hafeez scoops Trumpelmann for FOUR and there goes another to backward point! Scythes the left-armer in style and Hafeez has rolled back to form in style.
Trumpelmann to bowl out
PAK 138/2 in 17 overs: The Professor is on fire! Pure artistry from Hafeez as he works a ball away from the off-stump through the gap between short third and backward point for FOUR! Smit puts another onto the pads and Hafeez scoops it over short fine for another four.
PAK 127/2 in 16 overs: Frylinck to Zaman. OUT! Edged and a sensational take by Green behind the stumps! Fakhar steps out to play the ball past backward-point and gets a thick outside edge on it. The ball travels quickly to Green's right who takes an initial step to his right before diving full length to the opposite side to clinch a stunner. Fakhar Zaman c †Green b Frylinck 5 (5b)
PAK 118/1 in 15 overs: Wiese to Azam. OUT! Slower one and Babar holes out to deep mid-wicket. Babar is deceived by the lack of pace on the short ball and he mistimes it. Wiese has a word or two for him, all in good spirits. Fakhar is in at 3. Wiese continues to roll in the slower one to keep the batters in their track. Babar Azam c Frylinck b Wiese 70 (49b 7x4)
PAK 109/0 in 14 overs: Babar and Rizwan pierce the gaps and dish in the quick runs. Nine runs off it and the openers have set up for an explosive finish here.
PAK 101/0 in 13 overs: 100 up for Pakistan! Rizwan shimmies down and lofts Loftie over long-on for a massive SIX! How smoothly have they taken this away from Namibia's grasp in a couple of overs.
Loftie-Eaton replaces Shikongo
PAK 89/0 in 12 overs: FIFTY for Babar! And Pakistan ups its game in a flash. Rizwan smokes Trumpelmann over long-on for SIX and Babar lofts him over mid-off for FOUR. The left-armer strays to the pads and this time Babar slides the ball down leg for FOUR.
Most 50+ scores as captain in T20Is 14 - Babar Azam*13 - Virat Kohli
Trumpelmann returns
PAK 71/0 in 11 overs: Pakistan finally shifts gears.
Rizwan decides to slash at every delivery and ends up putting wood to Shikongo's loose delivery down leg for
FOUR. Babar then cuts fiercely past point to find another
FOUR.
PAK 59/0 in 10 overs: Tossed up full and Babar doesn't miss out on that one. He pummels it down the ground for FOUR and continues to slowly up the scoring rate.
Loftie-Eaton into the attack
PAK 50/0 in 9 overs: Rizwan's struggles are exploited once again by Smit. He gently pushes the ball outside the off-stump and Rizwan is beaten once again. Pakistan get to a slow fifty-run stand nearly at the half-way stage.
PAK 45/0 in 8 overs: Rizwan orders in a new blade but gets a nervy leading edge past point first-up. Babar and Rizwan are having quite a struggle against the shortish length too on this surface.
PAK 36/0 in 7 overs: Pakistan haven't been able to chip away with runs on this deck. Shikongo keeps it tight on the wickets and hits the deck hard. Babar and Rizwan slam hard but fail to time them onto the fence.
Shikonga into the attack
PAK 29/0 in 6 overs: Frylinck beats Babar's blade with a slider that moves away from him. He fends a bit too short and this time Babar slams him through cover for FOUR. Frylinck comes around the wicket and rolls in a slower one that beats Babar's bat once again and hits high on the back thigh.
Frylinck into the attack
PAK 23/0 in 5 overs: Smit to Rizwan. OUT! Full and into the pads, given! Rizwan instantly goes up for the review. Well, well. That's agonizing for the Namibians. Smit's delivery is adjudged a fraction outside the leg-stump and Rizwan survives. A poor shot to start with Rizwan as he aims to slog him across off the full length. Rizwan instantly rubs salt on the wounds with a flick to fine leg for FOUR.
Smit replaces Trumpelmann
PAK 13/0 in 4 overs: Babar on the charge. Wiese fends short and Babar crashes the ball through cover for FOUR. Excellent comeback from Wiese as he hits the length and nips the ball in to beat Babar's outside-edge. A tricky start here for Pakistan.
PAK 6/0 in 3 overs: Trumpelmann tucks the ball in again and this time Rizwan nudges it to the off-side and sets off on a quick single. He hits the deck shorter against Babar who gets an outside-edge to second slip. This is top stuff from Ruben. He zips the ball in sharply and crashes into Babar's pads, perhaps sliding down leg by a bit there. Another inside-edge off the bat and Babar gets off strike with a single.
PAK 4/0 in 2 overs: Babar gets off the mark with a flick through mid-wicket, he picks up three. Rizwan continues to struggle with Wiese keeping the delivery outside the off-stump and beating the outside edge.
David Wiese from the opposite end
PAK 0/0 in 1 over: WHAT A START for Trumpelmann! Trumpelmann attempts to find some swing off the first ball as he pushes the ball in towards Rizwan from over the wicket. Minimal movement in the over there and the left-arm deftly pushes the ball away to follow. Rizwan is beaten twice in the over as Trumpelmann hits the perfect length to trouble him. Maiden!
Trumpelmann with the new ball. Rizwan on strike.
Game on! Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are at the middle.
The teams walk out for the national anthems.
Pakistan XI: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
Namibia XI : Stephan Baard, Michael van Lingen, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus(c), Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Zane Green(w), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Ruben Trumpelmann, Ben Shikongo
TOSS TIME!
Toss, playing XI updates at 7PM IST. Stay tuned...
MATCH PREVIEW
Pakistan will face Namibia in a Super 12 contest in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday in a bid to top Group 2 and seal its semifinal berth at the ICC Twenty20 World Cup.
Babar Azam's men have barely put a foot wrong, and they come into this fixture riding on a hat-trick of wins. Meanwhile, after notching up three consecutive wins against Netherlands, Ireland and Scotland, Namibia lost to Afghanistan on Sunday by 62 runs.
It has been a historic run for Namibia, which is playing in its first T20 World Cup. But it can anticipate tough challenges from hereon. Its next opponent, Pakistan, has won 14 T20Is in a row in the UAE. Its bowling looks like a well-oiled machine that is firing on all cylinders.
READ:
The batters have exuded confidence too. Babar's clinical fifty against Afghanistan in the last match followed by Asif Ali's match-winning four sixes in the 19th over have reaffirmed Pakistan's status as the tournament favourite. Shoaib Malik hailed the team's winning streak on Monday. "To see consistency in Pakistan dressing room, that's the biggest thing for me so far," Malik said. "Everyone's helping each other. And it's a team game. When you're playing a team game, then you need your teammates' help. You need a lot of support from your management. And I see all of that coming."
For Namibia, the top three of Craig Williams, Michael van Lingen and Nicol Loftie-Eaton will look to shore up their shot selection after falling swinging across the line against Afghanistan. JJ Smit and David Wiese's skills will hold a key place too.
The surface in Abu Dhabi will aid the spinners, and the long boundaries will be the fielding team's favourite. Loftie-Eaton's leg-spin could come in handy.
These two sides have never played a T20I against each other before. Their only meeting was during the 2003 50-over World Cup in South Africa, where Pakistan beat Namibia by 171 runs.
- Ayan Acharya
WHERE TO WATCH TODAY'S MATCH?
The T20 World Cup 2021 match between Namibia and Pakistan will be aired live on the Star Sports Network at 7:30pm IST. The online live streaming will be available on Disney+ Hotstar .
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