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UAE 148 for 3 (Waseem 50, Rizwan 43*) beat Namibia 141 for 8 (Wiese 55, Zahoor Khan 2-20) by seven wickets.
Geelong: All-rounder David Wiese's heroics with bat went in vain as top spells from Zahoor Khan and Basil Hameed left Namibia seven runs short of a win against UAE in their Group A round one match in ICC T20 World Cup in Geelong on Thursday.
With this loss, Namibia has been eliminated from the tournament. Sri Lanka (4 points, two wins in three matches) and Netherlands (4 points, two wins in three matches) have qualified for the Super 12 phase of the tournament.
Chasing 149, spinner Basil Hameed and pacer Junaid Siddique destroyed the Namibian top order, dismissing Michael van Lingen (10), Stephan Baard (4) and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (1) within 5 overs, reducing the side to 26/3.
Skipper Gerhard Erasmus and Jan Frylinck joined forces to take their side safely through the powerplay overs. After six overs, Namibia was at 34/3, with Frylinck (5*) and Erasmus (10) at the crease.
The stand between Erasmus and Frylinck lasted for barely 17 runs, with Karthik Meiyappan striking to remove the skipper for 16 off 18 balls. A mix-up between Frylinck and JJ Smit resulted in the latter being unfortunately run out for just three runs. Half of Namibia's lineup was back in the hut for 46 runs.
Frylinck and Wiese started to rebuild the innings and took their side halfway mark without any further loss. At 10 overs, Namibia was at 53/5, with Frylinck (11*) and Wiese (4*) at the crease.
Namibia's fortunes continued to slide down with every ball in the second half of the innings, with medium pacer Zahoor Khan cleaning up Jan Frylinck (14) and wicketkeeper-batter Zane Green (2). Namibia sunk to 69/7.
Wiese and Ruben Trumpelmann put up a partnership that took Namibia beyond the 100-run mark. Wiese brought up his half-century in 31 balls, taking his team close to victory.
The 70-run partnership between the duo was over after Wiese tried to clear a Muhammad Waseem delivery over long-on but was caught by Alishan Sharafu. Wiese was back in the pavilion for 55 off 36 balls, consisting of three fours and three sixes.
Namibia needed 11 runs in 2 balls and they fell short of a crucial victory by seven runs. They finished at 141/8 in 20 overs, with Trumpelmann (25*) and Bernard Scholtz (1*).
Zahoor emerged as the pick of the bowlers for UAE, taking 2/20 in four overs. Hameed also took 2/17 in his three overs. Meiyappan and Waseem took a wicket each.
Earlier, electing to bat first, openers Muhammad Waseem and Vriitya Aravind provided UAE with a slow, but a steady start.
At the end of the powerplay in six overs, UAE was at 30/0, with Waseem (12*) and Aravind (13*) at the crease.
Spinner Bernard Scholtz gave Namibia their first breakthrough by dismissing Aravind for 21 off 32 balls. UAE was at 39/1.
Skipper Chundangapoyil Rizwan and Waseem took their side safely through 10 overs without losing wicket. At the end of 10 overs, UAE was at 58/1, with Rizwan (5*) and Waseem (28*) at the crease.
Rizwan-Waseem brought the 50-run stand in 35 balls. Waseem also brought up his half-century. The 58-run stand between the duo ended in the 15th over when Shikongo dismissed Waseem for 50 off 41 balls.
Alishan Sharafu fell to Wiese for just four runs, reducing UAE to 113/3.
Rizwan and Hameed guided UAE to 148/3 in their 20 overs, with Rizwan unbeaten at 43 off 29 balls and Hameed scoring 25 off 14 balls.
Scholtz was the pick of the bowlers for Namibia with 1/22. David Wiese and Ben Shikongo took a wicket each too.
