98/9 (20.0)
CR : 4.90
160/5 (20.0)
CR : 8.00
Afghanistan won by 62 runs
Player of the Match
Naveen ul Haq
3/26
19.6
1
K Janat to R Trumpelmann
And Afghanistan are back on the winning track. Brilliant victory for the Afghans. Janat pitches it fuller on the middle and leg. Trumpelmann clips it down to deep mid wicket for a single.
Over 20
Namibia 98/9
Bernard Scholtz6(11)
Ruben Trumpelmann12(9)
Karim Janat0-11(2.0)
AFG won by 62 runs
Well, if you are searching for the definition of a one-sided game, then here is the match for you. A thumping victory for the Afghanistan side who got back to winning ways and have rolled over the Namibian side by a whopping margin of 62 runs.
Let's just say Namibia were never really in this contest as Afghanistan gave a massive, massive boost to their net run-rate.
160 was never a daunting total, but Namibia made it look like a mountain to climb. The match was done and dusted inside the power-play when Namibia lost 3 wickets. From there on, it was all about how long will it take to end this game. Wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals and Namibia never really recovered from the early jolt.
Today it was not about Rashid Khan, today was not about Mujeeb, but it was all about Naveen ul Haq and Hamid Hassan who used their variations to perfection and tighten the screws on the Namibian scoring rate and chipped in with wickets for fun. In the end, 160 was way, way out of their reach as Namibia faltered in their run-chase and took a beating at the hands of the high-flying Afghan side..
Let's just say Namibia were never really in this contest as Afghanistan gave a massive, massive boost to their net run-rate.
160 was never a daunting total, but Namibia made it look like a mountain to climb. The match was done and dusted inside the power-play when Namibia lost 3 wickets. From there on, it was all about how long will it take to end this game. Wickets kept tumbling at regular intervals and Namibia never really recovered from the early jolt.
Today it was not about Rashid Khan, today was not about Mujeeb, but it was all about Naveen ul Haq and Hamid Hassan who used their variations to perfection and tighten the screws on the Namibian scoring rate and chipped in with wickets for fun. In the end, 160 was way, way out of their reach as Namibia faltered in their run-chase and took a beating at the hands of the high-flying Afghan side..
Naveen ul Haq is the player of the match and he decides to dedicate this trophy to Asghar Afghan.
Naveen ul Haq: "I was bowling with the new ball for the first time in the tournament and was looking to hit the right areas. The crowd is fantastic and I thank them for coming out in numbers to support us. Asghar Afghan is the greatest captain of Afghanistan and I loved playing under him. I made my debut under him and have learnt a lot from him. We will miss him in the dressing room."
A final word from Asghar Afghan - "It was an important win for us, he bowled really well (on Naveen-ul-Haq), used his variations extremely well on this wicket. Thanks to the fans for all the support given to the team so far and hope that it'll continue throughout the tournament."
Gerald Erasmus: "A bowling attack like that would have been tough and we knew that. First game here and the grass was cut off for some reasons. They got away with the bat as we leaked a few runs in the PP. A few partnerships stretched deep for them. The pitch didn't change much. We tried to chase but their quality showed. The quality in the attack and in their country is wonderful. We are aware of the challenges. We need to make use of this level. This is a stepping stone for the future."
Mohammad Nabi: "Thanks to my dear allah (Speaking in Urdu). Really great game and mentally the boys are ready for any challenge. We do discuss in the team meetings that we might have to chase at times as well. I just told the openers to go out there and play their game. We have some quality spinners, but today our bowlers did the job. It was his decision about the retirement (Asghar Afghan). He captained the side for the past 6-7 years and was very consistent in the T20I."
That's all for the coverage of this game. Switch tabs ASAP for the coverage of the Ind-NZ game. Till the next time, it's a ta-ta and a goodbye from me, Anurag Dasgupta and my co-commentators, Akshay Bhide and Arjun Bhalla.