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World T20 2021 | Creating genuine chances, Namibia, Ireland seek another step towards Super 12s

With a win and a defeat under their belt, it’s the net run rate that is presently keeping Ireland a place above Namibia in Group A. But, the two sides will now have a genuine opportunity to take another step towards the Super 12 stage. 

Well, Namibia would be riding high on confidence at the moment, courtesy of David Wiese, who played a blinder against Netherlands and helped his side etch their first World Cup win. Wiese along with captain Gerhard Erasmus helped Namibia come out of a tricky situation and eventually led them over the line. 

Ireland, on the other side, just lost their way in the middle against Sri Lanka despite picking up early wickets. After reducing the Asian side to 8/3, the Irish bowlers were hammered around the park as Sri Lanka posted 171/7 in 20 overs. 

The misery just didn’t end here for Ireland as they never really got into the groove and were bundled out for 101 in the 19th over losing the match by a huge 70-run margin. 

So, now the equation is such that Namibia will be coming into this game on the back of a scintillating win while Ireland will be under some pressure not because they suffered a defeat against Sri Lanka but the way they lost it. The beginning of the clash was pretty fascinating for the Irish fans but as the game progressed, the graph just went down. 

Nevertheless, as mentioned above, both sides have a genuine chance of giving themselves an opportunity and eye a Super 12 berth. 

Match Details

Match: NAM vs IRE, 11th Match, Group A, ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2021

Date: Friday, October 22, 2021

Time: 3:30 PM

Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah

Telecast: Star Sports Network

Pitch Report

The pitch in Sharjah might have some aid for the batsmen and with the kind of batting lineups that the two sides possess, high-voltage drama can be expected. So, if you win the toss, elect to bat first and try to post a big total on the board. 

Davie Wiese- An asset

David Wiese probably put in all his experience at a time when it was most needed for Namibia. The right-hander just played a blinder of an innings and anchored the side to what wasn’t just their first World Cup win but probably the most important one to date. The team management would just want Wiese to continue what he did against Netherlands on Wednesday. 

But there are certain areas that the team needs to focus on. For starters, the bowling unit needs to pick wickets at regular intervals and prevent the opposition from cutting loose. 

Second, Namibia can’t just back upon Wiese or for that matter Erasmus with the bat. The other batters too need to chip in with some more runs and build partnerships so that the opposition isn’t able to dominate them at any given stage of the match. 

Ireland’s inconsistency with the bat

There have already been two occasions when the Irish batting unit showed signs of concern. During the chase against Netherlands, they started off in a decent manner but lost a couple of wickets in quick succession only to get much-needed resistance from Paul Stirling and Gareth Delany who eventually helped the side chase down a target of 107 runs. 

But the issues were soon exposed when Ireland were once again chasing a target. This time they were up against a relatively better bowling attack and were after a much bigger target as well and as a result the batting order just witnessed a huge collapse. The Irish team never really made a return after losing early wickets and were comprehensively defeated in the end. 

With the amount of cricket that some of the Ireland players have played, they now need to take the onus on themselves and hold the fort. 

Another important aspect is taking advantage of scalping early wickets. The Ireland bowlers did pick up wickets quite early in the innings but let the match slip away from their hands. 

Probable XI

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

Ireland: Paul Stirling, Kevin O Brien, Andrew Balbirnie (c), Gareth Delany, Curtis Campher, Harry Tector, Neil Rock (wk), Simi Singh, Mark Adair, Joshua Little, Craig Young

CE Fantasy XI

Neil Rock, Kevin O Brien (VC), Andrew Balbirnie, Paul Striling, Gareth Delany, Gerhard Erasmus, David Wiese (C), JJ Smit, Joshua Little, Mark Adair, Bernard Scholtz 

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World T20 201 | Sri Lanka continue unbeaten run owing to all-round performance from Hasaranga

Sri Lanka have just about ensured their place in the Super 12 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup after a clinical 70-run victory over Ireland at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, 20 October. The Islanders rode on half centuries from Wanindu Hasaranga and Pathum Nissanka to post a decent total of 171 runs and then returned to clinically defend it with a decent bowling performance. The quality of the Lankan bowling unit was too good for Ireland to match and they fell behind from the beginning of the chase. The Irish lost their first three wickets for just 32 runs inside the powerplay and from there Sri Lanka just kept piling on pressure one over at a time. Mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana was once again the pick among the bowlers and grabbed three wickets for just 17 runs off his four overs. He could have done better on the night if he wouldn’t have strayed to the middle and leg stump for most of the play. On a wicket that did not offer much bounce to the slower bowlers, Hasaranga returned with clinical figures of 1/12 from his 4 overs. The wily all rounder would have gotten at least one more, if Sri Lanka did better in the catching department tonight. Earlier in the day, Sri Lanka once again suffered a top order derailment losing their first three wickets under 10 runs. The proceedings began in the first over itself with Kusal Perera departing for a golden duck, chipping the ball to the cover fielder. Once Perera went back to the hut, Joshua Little in a spirited first over, first removed Dinesh Chandimal and then cleaned up in-form Avishka Fernando with an absolute ripper. Down at 8-3, Wanindu Hasaranga and Pathum Nissanka shouldered the batting unit and saw SL through a tough powerplay. Both batsmen started teeing off from the fifth over bowled by Mark Adair and then took the attack to the opposition in the final over of the powerplay. Simi Singh was at the unfortunate end of things and got slapped for 17 runs in his first over. Hasaranga and Nissanka added 123 runs in just 82 balls, before Hasaranga tired out in the heat and sliced Adair’s slower yorker to backward point in the second ball of the 16th over. He made a career best 71 off 47 balls. The win tonight meant that Sri Lanka have just about assured that move to the Super 12 stage and enter the group of death (Group A) that houses defending World Champions West Indies, last edition finalists England, Australia and South Africa. Sri Lanka will hope that they can fix their top order in the break, a unit that is increasingly becoming insufferable to watch for the fans. Barring that, surely the think-tank will sit down to have a discussion about the fielding department that has spilled several catches in the two matches that they have played. Their bowling has been the feature of the team so far and Dasun Shanaka and co. will hope that they can encash on that asset as the move to face tougher oppositions as the tournament progresses. With one more game to play Netherlands in their next game on 22 October Friday.

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