(Cricket news) For New Zealand the equation is pretty easy, win all your matches and they are through to one more ICC tournament semi final. Namibia are already out of the World Cup and will be playing for their pride
New Zealand are coming off a resounding victory over Scotland and will look to continue the same against Namibia. The main question heading into the match would be fatigue, the match against Namibia will be New Zealand's second afternoon game in succession. Having already played against Scotland in Dubai, the next match in Abu Dhabi is sure to be a test with the effect of the travel and heat challenging the likes of Kane Williamson who is suffering from a flared-up elbow since the beginning of the tournament. Martin Guptill looked in exceptional form as he scored 93* and will hope to continue this purple patch, the New Zealand fast bowling too has been on point as Trent Boult and Tim Southee have not let the batters play freely in the powerplay, Namibia will be wary of Tim Southee who's picked the most T20I wickets inside the powerplay since July 2019.
Namibia even in their losses have shown extreme grit and determination of not giving up. For them, the game against New Zealand is an opportunity to rub shoulders with the best and perhaps make the semi final race in Group 2 a little more exciting. The pitch might suit the slower bowlers of Namibia as Ruben Trumpelmanns and JJ Smits can cause the New Zealand batters some problems. The Namibian bowlers can actually expose the middle order, with Glenn Phillips and Jimmy Neesham have not been tested in the tournament. There's also a bit of inexperience in these conditions; while this is Devon Conway's first T20 series in Asia, Phillips has only ever played six games in the subcontinent.
Head to head: This is the first ever meeting between New Zealand and Namibia
Pitch and weather report: Sharjah has been a spinners paradise this World Cup as spinners have picked up 35 wickets and conceded runs well 7 runs per over. The trend of winning the toss and chasing will likely continue as batting tends to be easier in the evening. The temperature is going to hover around 35/36 degrees, as there is no chance of rain.
Interesting facts:
- Of all Super 12 teams, Namibia have used the least overs of spin
- 5 out of the last 6 games have been won by teams batting first. In 13 of the 15 games before that, chasing sides won
- With 63 wickets in 48 appearances since the 2016 World T20, Ish Sodhi is the joint-second most-successful bowler in the T20Is in the past five years
- The average first-innings score in 22 T20Is at Sharjah is 146 for 7. However, in a reflection of the difficulty of defending totals, the average winning first-innings score at the venue rises to 163 for 6.
- Also read: Reigning T20 champions West Indies fail to qualify for the World Cup semifinals after 20 run loss to Sri Lanka
Probable XI for New Zealand:
1 Daryl Mitchell, 2 Martin Guptill, 3 Kane Williamson (capt), 4 Devon Conway (wk), 5 Glenn Phillips, 6 Jimmy Neesham, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Adam Milne, 9 Tim Southee, 10 Trent Boult/Kyle Jamieson, 11 Ish Sodhi.
Probable XI for Namibia:
1 Stephen Baard, 2 Michael van Lingen, 3 Craig Williams, 4 Gerhard Erasmus (capt), 5 David Wiese, 6 JJ Smit, 7 Jan Frylinck, 8 Zane Green (wk), 9 Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, 10 Ruben Trumpelmann, 11 Bernard Scholtz/Ben Shikongo.
