T20 WC: Wiese's blitz and Gerhard's composure help Namibia stun Netherlands

Allrounder David Wieses unbeaten fifty 66 not out off 40 balls led Namibia to a comprehensive sixwicket win over Netherlands in the 7th match of the ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2021 at Sheikh Zayed StadiumThis was the first win of the tournament for Namibia while Netherlands campaign is in tatters after two losses in as many games The victory keeps Namibias hopes of reaching the Super 12 alive while the Netherlands now need to beat Sri Lanka in their final match to have any chance of making it throughOpener Max ODowds second halfcentury of the tournament helped the Netherlands post 1644 in 20 overs Chasing a challenging target for victory Namibia had a good start scoring 411 in the powerplay However the likes of Craig Williams and Baard then fell in backtoback overs leaving Namibia in trouble The loss of three wickets in the first 10 overs with 68 on the board left the middle order with plenty to do But with Wiese and Erasmus in the middle Namibia were still in the huntBoth Wiese and Gerhard Erasmus refused to go on the defensive Roelof Van der Merwe was taken for two sixes of which Wiese went straight down the ground in an over that cost 16 runs Colin Ackermann conceded 19 as Wiese again went over the bowler Wieses fifty came off just 29 balls fittingly with his fourth six of the day this one over cover Erasmus 32 off 22 balls was vital in the matchwinning partnership of 93 off just 51 ballsThe Netherlands had little answer to Wieses ball striking While they managed to send back Erasmus and Fred Klaassen bowled a tight spell at the death JJ Smit 14 not out off 8 completed the formalities for a famous winEarlier batting first Netherlands openers Stephan Myburgh and Max ODowd adopted a positive approach and played freely in the powerplay Myburgh and ODowd welcomed David Wiese with a couple of fours in the second over ODowd carrying his good form from the first game pulled a short ball from Ruben Trumpelmann for six and then charged down the pitch for a lofted four down the groundThe opening pair added 42 runs before Jan Frylinck gave Namibia the first breakthrough by getting rid of Stephan Myburgh 17 in the final over of the powerplayRoelof van der Merwe who was promoted to get some quick runs showed his intent with a reverseswept four However he was caught in the deep without adding much more giving Wiese his first wicket Namibia bowled with discipline and managed to slow down the scoring keeping their opponents to 692 at the halfway markFrom there on ODowd did well to find the gaps and keep the scoreboard ticking He targeted the shorter boundary on the offside with a lofted shot to bring up his fifty with a four He went on to make 70 off 56 balls run out in the final over while going for the secondHowever it wasnt easy for other batters to get the big hits given the large boundaries of the ground Colin Ackermann who himself was kept in check by a series of wide yorkers took 30 balls to hit the first six Scott Edwards came in at the death and struck three boundaries to make a quick 21 off just 11 and took the Netherlands to 1644 in 20 overs which wasnt enoughBrief scores Netherlands 1644 in 20 overs Max ODowd 70 off 56 Ackermann 35 off 32 Jan Frylinck 236 lost to Namibia 1664 in 19 Overs David Wiese 66 not out off 40 Gerhard Erasmus 32 off 22 Fred Klaassen 114Also Read T20 World Cup Ashwin Rohit Sharma shine as India defeat Australia in warmup matchThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever