ICC T20 World Cup 2021: Namibia creates history after beating Ireland in their last qualifier game to qualify for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Super 12. The biggest upset so far was Ireland and Netherland, who failed to perform at the highest level.
The qualifiers were particularly full of drama as Bangladesh were beaten in their first match against Scotland. But still managed to accelerate themselves to the super 12.
Sri Lanka were very dominating in every match, giving Netherland the last beating to remain unbeaten in the qualifiers. One other team which was unbeaten was Scotland who were impressive themselves to put some incredible results throughout the qualifiers.
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Scotland being qualified before their last game, it was on the match between Ireland and Namibia for the last vacant spot. The game did not disappoint and held the hype.
Looking competitive against the proteas in a recent series, Ireland were poor in the qualifiers. In a do-or-die situation, you would expect experienced campaigners to reach out at the top, however, batting first on a sluggish Sharjah pitch was a bit risky.
Failing to justify their choice, Ireland were bowled out for just 125 runs, even after an electric start by Paul Sterling and Kevin O’Brien in the powerplay. Skipper somehow managed to hold the innings but the decreasing run rate and rise in the dot deliveries caused him to fumble his wicket.
It was all Namibia from that particular point as Jan Frylinck and David Wiese, the former South African campaigner, plunged Ireland out of their roots. Wiese picked up two wickets while his mate Frylinck picked up three wickets.
Ireland defending a low total, jabbed Namibia with an early breakthrough while also keeping them under the 5 run per over mark. However, the skipper Gerhard Erasmus with his steady half-ton remains unbeaten to cast the metal in place.
The pressure would have mounted on Namibia if Wiese had failed to blast the opponent with his supreme hitting policy. That turned out to be a historic moment for both Namibia and David Wiese.
After the game, “We are a small country, a small number of people play cricket. We should be proud of ourselves,” said Erasmus. “I count on my senior men to stand up when the pressure is on. And two of us did it tonight. Hopefully, we can do it through the tournament,” he added.
“It’s completely overwhelming. I don’t think I deserve to be sitting here. I think the captain Gerhard Erasmus deserves to be the man of the match,” said Wiese the man of the match awardee.
Watch the highlights of Namibia vs Ireland in ICC T20 World Cup qualifiers.
ICC T20 World Cup 2021, Groups lookout.
Group 1: Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka.
Group 2: Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Scotland, and Namibia.
Bangladesh being second in the Group B qualifier has made Group 1 more complex. But Scotland and Namibia had proven themselves and can’t be taken lightly.
