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T20 World Cup | Bruised India look to test bench strength as Namibia aim to add insult to injury

Abhishek Singh

So the World Cup’s group stage is finally coming to an end and it might not be the right way to end with a non-impact game as the result of this game won’t matter to anyone anywhere apart from the two teams involved in this game. 

While at one end there is India who have got literally nothing to play for apart from the fact that they can test their bench strength and give a somewhat accommodative farewell to Virat Kohli in his last game as the blue brigade’s T20I skipper. On the other end, there is Namibia who have everything to play for and end what has been their best-ever showing on a world stage. 

What's at stake?

For India, there is obviously pride to play for. And along with it, there is also the opportunity to let the likes of Rahul Chahar have an experience of seeing what it is like to play in a World Cup. Other than that, Virat Kohli, who hasn’t really had a great outing with the bat so far can also promote himself as there is no burden of net run rate now. Playing freely should be the idea that team India could incorporate. 

For Namibia, there could be a no bigger opportunity than this one to show what they are made of. They did well against New Zealand and Pakistan and even won a Super 12 game by beating Scotland. If they have an impressive outing against India, which is not necessarily a win, but just to have great moments, it will go a long way in giving them the belief that they could do well. 

What needs to change?

As far as India are concerned they would like to finish the game as soon as possible but that wouldn’t be at the cost of not giving youngsters such as Ishan Kishan and Rahul Chahar a chance to play. This match is dead by all means for India and they wouldn’t be losing anyways so why not give young players a feel of what it is like to play at the biggest event of them all.

For Namibia, it would once again come down to their batting. The bowling of the team has been brilliant apart from the death overs against New Zealand in their last game, but it is the batting that has disappointed. In the first round, it was the batting of the likes of skipper Gerhard Erasmus and experienced David Wiese that got the team through in two tough games against Ireland and Netherlands and even in the Super 12 against Scotland. 

But since then the two players have not been able to get going and in the last match, it would only be fitting that they go all out with the bat. 

India vs Namibia: Match Details

Match Number - 42

Date and Time: November 08, 2021, 07:30 pm IST, 06:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT

Venue: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai

Broadcast and Livestream: Star Sports and Hotstar

Pitch Report

The pitch at Dubai has overtime shown that it has some help for spinners early on, but as it gets wet in the second innings, there is literally nothing that the bowling unit can do and prevent a team from chasing down the total. Thus dew becomes a very undue advantage for the team batting second. 

Weather Forecast

The temperature at the stadium will fall from 28-degree Celsius at 06:00 pm to 25-degree Celsius by 10:00 pm and similarly, the humidity will increase from 51% to 65%. With such a huge amount of humidity, heavy dew is expected as well. 

Team News

India

The Indian team can rest Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin for this game and give Ishan Kishan and Rahul Chahar a chance. 

Probable XI

KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

Namibia

Namibia can bring back Jan Frylick who is a sure shot all-rounder and as an experienced member of the team, he would be looking to play such a big game as this. 

Probable XI

Stephan Baard, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (c), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Zane Green (wk), Michael van Lingen, Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz

CE XI Fantasy team

Wicketkeepers Ishan Kishan

Batters KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Gerhard Erasmus

All-rounders Ravindra Jadeja, David Wiese, JJ Smit

Bowlers Rahul Chahar, Jasprit Bumrah, Ruben Trumpelmann

Vice-Captain Ravindra Jadeja

Captain KL Rahul

Discover more

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T20 World Cup 2021 | New Zealand bury India’s hopes; seal professional win against Afghanistan

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