India chased down the target in the 16th over after restricting Namibia to 132/8
08 November, 2021
PHOTO: REUTERS
India have ended their T20 World Cup campaign on a high as they beat Namibia by nine wickets at Dubai International Stadium.
The Men in Blue chased down the target in the 16th over after restricting the opposition to 132/8. India finished third on the points table, behind Pakistan and New Zealand, the two semi-finalists from this group.
India bow out of T20 World Cup with resounding win over Namibia 👏
— Cricket Pakistan (@cricketpakcompk) November 8, 2021
Scorecard: https://t.co/vrPZTBuimy#INDvNAM pic.twitter.com/wQEfMTUfqj
Indian captain Virat Kohli, in his last T20I match as skipper, opted to bowl first. Namibian openers started well and were scoring more than seven runs per over.
The duo of Michael van Lingen and Stephan Baard put up a 33-run stand, the most notable of the Namibia innings. Lingen (14) fell to Bumrah in the fifth over.
India completely dominated the proceedings after the powerplay and bagged wickets at regular intervals. Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja derailed Namibia by taking three wickets each.
Ashwin, in his spell of 3/20, removed Namibian skipper Gerhard Erasmus (12), Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (5) and Zane Green (0).
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Jadeja, in his spell of 3/16, took wickets of Stephan Baard (21), Craig Williams (0) and JJ Smit (9).
All-rounder David Wiese was once again the major contributor. He scored 25-ball 26 while Jan Frylinck made run-a-ball 15. Ruben Trumpelmann (13) hit a four and a six, taking Namibia's total to 132/8.
In return, Rohit Sharma kept most of the strike in the powerplay and hammered the cricket ball all over the park. He reached the second half-century of the tournament in 31 balls.
While trying to score at a faster rate, he fell to Frylinck in the 10th over. He hit seven fours and two sixes in his 37-ball 56.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul continued to bat firmly with his new partner Suryakumar Yadav. Rahul hit his third consecutive fifty in the competition and remained undefeated on 36-ball 54 while Yadav made 25 in 19 balls.
The tournament will have a day off tomorrow as the knockout action will return from Sheikh Zayed Stadium when England face New Zealand in the first semi-final on November 10.
