NAM vs OMA

After quite a pulsating match at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, not for the faint-hearted of course, Namibia pull off the win in the Super Over and pick up first points in Group B! Oman made a match out of this no doubt, but had to do better in terms of their fielding, in particular. Now, the action shifts to New York again with first match of Group D coming up. South Africa take on Sri Lanka in a mouth-watering contest! The game starts at 10:30 am local time and 8:00 pm IST. So catch us call every bit of action from that match later today. As for now, this is the pair of Arya and Bidipto taking your leave. Keep following Sportskeeda! 

Gerhard Erasmus (Namibia captain): (First thoughts) Really pleased and relieved to have got over the line here today! It wasn't all that comfortable with the bat, we bowled really well, tied them down to under 110 but then, made heavy weather of the chase. It was difficult to get momentum through the second innings because of the wicket. (On the surface) On this kind of a pitch, it's important to take responsibility as a batter after having faced 15-20 balls as the new batter will always find it tough. Jan Frylinck did an important job there. In the Super Over, we made the opportunity count and maximized! (On giving the Super Over to David Wiese) David was clear in the dressing about bowling the Super Over. He wanted it, and when you have someone like him in the mix, you rely on him. He did a brilliant job, didn't he? Hope this winning momentum continues. 

Aqib Ilyas (Oman captain): (On the match) We could have enjoyed it had we won it, we did put up a strong fight, but, the loss hurts! (On the batting) I think our batters should have gone on to get better scores once they were set, because on this surface, it was always going to be tough for the new batter. (On giving Bilal Khan the Super Over) I think Bilal is one of the best bowlers going around in associate cricket, just he didn't have the best of times in the Super Over today, but we back him fully. 

David Wiese is the Player of the Match, here is what he has to say: Yeah aged a couple of years tonight. I need to take it easy not sure how many years of cricket left in me (chuckles). Emotionally draining game I suppose. Yeah I think it helps. I had a feel for the wicket and I felt if I could get a few big shots away then it will set it up. The pitch was a difficult one but we adapted nicely. Some stayed lowed and some popped up. Once you got in you had to capitalise and you had to spend some time in there. It's difficult to gauge. If you are chasing 180 then you are going with a different intent. But in a low-scoring game, it's not the same. Lot of learnings from the game and hopefully we can rectify those things in the coming matches.

Namibia win the match by winning the Super Over!

Match tied after 40 overs.
Jan Frylinck 45 (48) | Ruben Trumpelmann - 4/21 (4)
Khalid Kail 34 (39) | Mehran Khan - 3/7 (3)

Super Over.
David Wiese - 13* (4) and 1/10
Aqib Ilyas - 7* (2) | Bilal Khan - 0/21

What a match this was! Mind you, not being able to chase down 110 runs in 20 overs with 4 wickets still in the hut is a disappointment in itself from the Namibian point of view, but, credit to Oman for stifling the flow of runs and using the conditions to their advantage. However, what did not help Aqib Ilyas' side is the fact that they missed quite a few opportunities in the field.

Slow going right from the start of the second innings did not work in favour of Namibia, but the bigger problem was the lack of rotation of strike. There were far too many dot deliveries played out, which dragged the game and kept Oman in the hunt.

Jan Frylinck did play a good hand, but took too much time to get to 45. But him getting out in the first ball of the final over made matters more complicated. Interestingly, David Wiese, batting at number 6, was the only Namibia batter to go at a strike rate of over 100. And he scored only 9 runs.

With the ball, Mehran Khan returned with highly impressive figures of 3/7 in 3 overs and managed to defend only 5 runs in the final over! Bilal Khan bowled a good 19th over too, but of course, the overall performance was tight and economical.

Then comes the Super Over, and David Wiese uses all his experience to smash a four and a six! Along with his captain Gerhard Erasmus, he put up 21 runs on the board. That, on this surface, was way too much in all likelihood!

And it was Wiese who came back to bowl and managed to defend the score comfortably by 11 runs!

0.6 David Wiese to Aqib Ilyas, SIX! That's a six to end the match but it's Namibia who has beaten Oman in the super over. A full toss on the pads and easy pickings for Ilyas, swings it away across the line and sends it over the backward square leg fence. 

0.5 David Wiese to Zeeshan Maqsood, slower good-length delivery around middle, swiped away across the line from the inside half of the bat, down towards short fine leg for a single. 

0.4 David Wiese to Aqib Ilyas, that's a slower one a good-length around middle, Ilyas goes swinging across the line and cue ends that towards the on side for a single. 

0.3 David Wiese to Naseem Khushi, WICKET! Wiese has made it Namibia's match, again a perfect yorker, just a tad outside off and Khushi gets an inside edge straight onto the stumps. 20 required off the last 3 deliveries which is practically impossible. What a stunning over this has been from Wiese. He has single handedly won it for Namibia.

Naseem Khushi b David Wiese 2 (3b, 0x4, 0x6)

0.2 David Wiese to Naseem Khushi, brilliantly bowled by Wiese, inch-perfect yorker a shade outside off and Khushi only manages to jam that away back to the bowler. 

0.1 David Wiese to Naseem Khushi, Wiese starts off with a low full toss outside off, lofted away from the bottom half of the bat, down towards widish long off and has to settle for a brace. 

Oman have their task cut out. But, they have the skill to pull off this heist. Zeeshan Maqsood and Naseem Khushi will face up to the Namibian challenge. David Wiese will bowl the Super Over for Namibia here. 

Namibia score 21 runs in the Super Over! Oman need 22 runs to win the match from 6 balls. 

Of the 21 overs that Namibia have batted in, this Super Over by far has been their best! The fluency with which they have batted has been top notch! 

Perhaps Bilal Khan was not the right choice for Oman to bowl this over. Maybe Mehran Khan was the better bet, with all due respect.