Afghanistan Hands 62-Run Defeat To Namibia In T20 World Cup

Cricket Image for Afghanistan Hands 62-Run Defeat To Namibia In T20 World Cup (Image Source: AFP)

A dominating Afghanistan meant Namibia lose the 27th T20 World Cup 2021 match by 62 runs on Sunday at Abu Dhabi. 

Chasing 161, Namibia lost their first wicket in the first over itself; they went on to lose three wickets inside the powerplay and could only score 29. 

Afghanistan's bowlers continued to bowl tight lines and choke runs as Namibia lost wickets at regular intervals. No Namibian batter could bat long apart from David Wiese, who hit 26 from 30 balls. 

Naveen-ul-Haq and Hamid Hassan, who picked up six wickets amongst themselves, were the wreckers-in-chief as Afghanistan restricted Namibia to just 98/9. 

Earlier, Hazratullah Zazai and Mohammad Shahzad gave another terrific start as Afghanistan smashed 50 runs in the powerplay. Zazai hit 33 from 27 balls before JJ Smit got him out. 

Rahmanullah Gurbaz couldn't contribute much and got for four. Shehzad smashed 45 off just 33 balls to give a brilliant platform to the rest of the batters. 

Asghar Afghan, who was playing his last international match, scored 31 from 23 balls to get Afghanistan to 160/5 along with Mohammad Nabi, who hit 32 off just 17 balls. 

Brief Scorecard: 

Afghanistan - 160/5 
Namibia - 98/9