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T20 World Cup | NZ vs NAM: In pursuit of net run rate boost, New Zealand face tricky Namibians in Sharjah

Abhishek Singh

New Zealand have got all their bases covered and even after struggling a bit in their last game against Scotland, they ended up on the winning side and now have four points from three games. All they need is to win their remaining games which are against Namibia and Afghanistan and they would be through to the semi-finals.  They have got no net run rate to worry about. But what if they lose against Afghanistan? What if?

To cover that what if, they would look to make sure that their net run rate touches a great high as they face Namibia in their next challenge. Given the fact that the match is at Sharjah and Namibian bowlers have been good throughout the tournament, it might just not be the easiest game for the Kiwis. But easy or not they must try and win it big time. 

What's at stake?

For New Zealand, it is about making a safe basket, which they could not even if they tried as getting past the Afghan and India net run rate is a herculean task, so they might as well just look to avoid any surprise and then as the match nears its end, try and get as early to the finish as possible, just to build some sort of pressure in Afghanistan and India regarding the net run rate issue. 

For Namibia, they would like t keep performing the way they have been. Their batting is of course the weakest link, especially the top order and hence they would like to see them firing for once. The stakes are not high as per the tournament for the blue eagles, but as far as a nation and as a team it is concerned, they would obviously like to outperform themselves from their last game and try and pull out a surprise. 

What needs to change?

The biggest change that new Zealand would like to have before that virtual quarterfinal against Afghanistan is to have skipper Kane Williamson in form. He has not been able to spend as much time as is desirous from the captain of the team and hence him getting a lot of time in the middle. Another change that the Kiwis would like to have is either get Adam Milne in form or try out Kyle Jamieson. 

For Namibia, the biggest change could be to see their prime run-scorers in Round-1 captain Gerhard Erasmus and all-rounder David Wiese getting back in form with the willow. If these two score runs, the team from Africa could really pose a challenge with a very talented bowling attack. 

New Zealand vs Namibia: Match Details

Match Number - 36

Date and Time: November 05, 2021, 03:30 pm IST, 02:00 pm Local, 10:00 am GMT

Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Broadcast and Livestream: Star Sports and Hotstar

Pitch Report

The pitch at Sharjah would have shine on it but it would act as a facade as the wicket would be low and slow as usual and anything above the range of 150 would be hard to chase on that wicket. 

Weather Forecast

The temperature at the stadium will fall from 32-degree Celsius at 02:00 pm to 29-degree Celsius by 06:00 pm and similarly, the humidity will increase from 44% to 58% meaning that the wicket would keep getting stickier as the game progresses. 

Team News

New Zealand

New Zealand have all the players fit and fine, but it could really test Kyle Jamieson instead of dam Milne as the latter has been out of form in the last two games that he has played. Apart from that, no other change looks like a possibility. 

Probable XI

Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway (wk), James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult

Namibia

For Namibia, they can try and get Bernard Scholtz back in the playing XI in place of van Lingen who has not been able to perform with the bat whatsoever. An extra spinner at Sharjah would really be of some help. 

Probable XI

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

CE XI Fantasy team

Wicketkeepers Devon Conway

Batters Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Glenn Phillips, Gerhard Erasmus

All-rounders David Wiese, JJ Smit

Bowlers Ish Sodhi, Kyle Jamieson, Ruben Trumpelmann, Jan Frylinck

Vice-Captain David Wiese

Captain Martin Guptill

Discover more

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