Namibia will play India on November 8 while New Zealand face Afghanistan on November 7.
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus rued inability to execute plans with the ball in the death overs after his team’s 52-run loss to New Zealand in their Super 12 contest on Friday (November 5) in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 in Sharjah.
On Friday, Namibia bowled brilliantly at the start of the match to put New Zealand in a spot of bother at 87/4 inside 14 overs, but they conceded 73 runs in the last five overs, as the Black Caps managed to post a tricky total of 163 on the board in Sharjah.
Namibia could score only 111/7 to lose the game by 52 runs against New Zealand. However, Erasmus is hopeful to put up an improved show in their final game in the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 against India on November 8, Monday, in Dubai.
Erasmus said at the post-match presentation: “I thought we bowled well for a while, probably for the first 15-16 overs, but the death overs didn't go according to the plan. We need to go back and make plans for the death overs. It was quite a tough pitch though. 160 was a bit too much on that wicket. As I said it got away from us towards the end.”
He concluded, “It's all about using the right bowler at the right time towards the end. We got one more game so we need to try and nail that aspect, so hoping to do that against India.”
Meanwhile, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson said: “I think we all know what we have to expect here, it was a real scrape." We tried to maximize that short side, it was a challenging surface. The guys played well to get us 160. An over or two can crack the game, that was our focus.”
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New Zealand needs to win their final game against Afghanistan to qualify for the semifinals of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2021 and Williamson said his team is ready for the challenge on November 7.
Williamson signed off by saying, “They are a strong side and they (Afghanistan) have played good cricket, they have some match winners. Looking forward to that challenge.”
On the other hand, the New Zealand all-rounder Jimmy Neesham, who was adjudged the player of the match for his stellar all-round performance – 35* and 1/16, was happy with his team’s performance against Namibia and said he is ready to bowl even four overs if his team needs.
Neesham said, “It was a two-paced wicket, there were talks about the repercussions if we had lost today, but we were not thinking about the wicket. We needed to do well and the key for us was to set a par total, the way we went out there and played on a challenging surface, I'm pleased with it.”
He signed off by saying, “I'm fresh and I can bowl four if required, but we do have five specialists and I make up the sixth, I'm happy and ready to bowl when needed.”
(With PTI Inputs)