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T20 World Cup | Head coach confident Namibia exceeded expectations in ‘emotional rollercoaster’ event

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Namibia were one of the most unknown sides coming into the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup and hence they were also not expected to make it to the Super 12 stage of the tournament. 

They were stacked against sides such as Ireland and Netherlands, who have been playing the format and at the world stage for a long time if they were to qualify beyond the group stages. 

They did defeat both of them to advance to the main stage and when the coach Pierre de Bruyn looks back at their journey in the tournament, he is very proud of their achievements. He declared that the Namibians have exceeded what was expected of them in the competition. He added that the quality of cricket they played in the tournament against some of the best sides of the world must have left some lasting impression not only on Namibian people but also on the fans across the world.

"It's been an emotional rollercoaster for all of us. We came here with expectations but I think we exceeded that and with that the pressure mounted and these players have really announced themselves. We thought it was a cricket Namibia story for our country but it's become a global story where we've inspired not just our kids back home but globally we have won a lot of hearts," said de Bruyn.

Namibia have not won their last three games against Pakistan, New Zealand and Afghanistan but their win against Scotland, Ireland and Netherland gives a lot of moments to treasure to their coach.

De Bruyn said that they have not won too many games in the highly competitive Super 12 stage but they have not been decimated by any side either. He said that Namibia have been in the contest for as long as entire 40 overs of their games and that should give some confidence to players about their ability to compete with the best in the world.

Rating his side’s journey in the tournament as “emotional rollercoaster”, he also drew some lessons by referring to their last game against New Zealand and said that the Kane Williamson-led side had scored just 94 runs by losing four major wickets in 16 overs before they ran away with the game. He said that their bowlers have shown heart to challenge the best batsmen and have not provided an easier path for opposition to roll them over and score two easy points.

"We have played 40-overs cricket in this group, we have not been blown away by any team in 10 overs or 12 overs or anything like that. We've been willing to stretch the game and give ourselves a good chance against these top oppositions. Tomorrow's a classic game where you go in and you need to hold your own, you need to take brutal accountability for what you're going to bring to the team. It's the last little push. It's been a long tour and it's been an emotional rollercoaster to say the least,” he added.

"Facing the best in the world can be overwhelming and it's all about staying composed and this team, especially with the ball, has shown that they are willing to hold on and compete like we showed in the game against New Zealand - they were 94 for 4 after 16 overs - so the learnings for us is that we're going to treasure that, we're going to hold on hard to that because these lessons - good or bad - are only going to make you a better team and they're to make you a better player.”

Namibia are set to play the star-studded India under Virat Kohli, who is set to lead the Men in Blue for the last time in the international T20 format and Namibia will be looking forward to spoiling their farewell in order to leave an unforgettable mark on world cricket.

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T20 World Cup | Clinical Pakistan breeze past Scotland, enter semis as the only unbeaten side

It was all hunky-dory for Pakistan as they nailed an expected victory against Scotland on Sunday night at Sharjah. They won their last game of the Super 12 to end up as the only unbeaten side in this edition of the T20 World Cup. They would now enter the semi-finals having won all their games and face Australia in the second semis at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on November 11. Chasing a target of 190 was never going to be easy for the Scots. The challenge for them never looked like chasing 190, it was always about showing better application with the bat against one of the best bowling attacks in the tournament. But they failed to do that and apart from Richie Berrington, who scored his first fifty in this edition of the World Cup, and to an extent George Munsey, no other batter was able to stay there for long. At the end of the 20 overs, the team in purple could only reach 117 with Berrington remaining unbeaten on 54 off 37 balls. They lost the game by a huge margin of 72 runs. For Pakistan, Shadab Khan picked two wickets while Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi picked one each. Earlier in the evening, after winning the toss, Pakistan decided to bat first - making it twice in a row that they chose to take up the challenge of batting without the dew factor. The reasoning behind the decision making was to test themselves in situations that would be unfavourable to them and would have to set a total for the opposition team who would be batting in far better conditions. The opening partnership was once again steady as usual, but Pakistan were once again slow to get off the rails. They were 35 for no loss at the end of the powerplay with Mohammad Rizwan batting at 15 off 18 balls and captain Babar Azam striking almost at 100 SR with 17 off 18 balls to his name. The Pakistan keeper, who has been having a stellar tournament got out on the first ball outside the powerplay but that did not halt the scoring rate of the team. Babar Azam continued his good run and hit the fourth fifty in his fifth game of the tournament, a record held only by three players in the world. But it was the innings of Shoaib Malik that changed the course of the game as he hit an 18-ball fifty, the fastest for any Pakistani in T20I cricket. Thanks to his fifty, Pakistan scored 65 in the last four overs to reach 189 in their 20 overs. Scotland remained winless in the Super 12 stage even though they won three out of three in the first round of the tournament to make it to the Super 12. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam was confident about his team’s chances in the semi-final at Dubai against Australia. He said, “We have confidence and belief in the team-mates. We are playing as a team and hence playing consistent cricket. We would want to continue with the same momentum.” On other hand, Kyle Coetzer, the Scottish skipper was happy to have been able to inspire a few people back home to pick the game and make the country progress even more. “It's a huge occasion for an associate team to play in the World Cup. Hope we have inspired a few people. There is plenty of room for growth and I am sure these guys have learnt a lot,” he said.