Ruben Trumpelmann trampled Scotland early in the game and his colleagues then ensured they overcame the shaky periods during their run-chase, as Namibia got their campaign in the Super 12 stage of this T20 World Cup off to an excellent start.
Courtesy left-arm pacer Trumpelmann’s superb bowling figures of 3/17 and No.6 batsman Johanes Jonathan Smit’s unbeaten 32, Namibia managed to prevail over Scotland by four wickets with five balls to spare at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Namibia surely would be put to far more difficult tests when up against the Big Three of Group II (India, Pakistan and New Zealand) as well as Afghanistan. But for a nation playing in a World Cup after more than 18 years, and to have braved the challenges of the pandemic and come this far as well as even winning their opening game is certainly fairy-tale like.
Trumpelmann got the ball to move just enough to leave the Scotsmen three wickets down for just two runs with the first over of the game yet to be over. The Scotsmen, after being put in to bat, lost George Munsey to the first ball of the match and could never stage a comeback as all they could manage was a meagre 109/8.
The task, thereafter, was easy for the Namibians, but all of a sudden, they seemed to be losing the plot. However, alongside Smit, the experienced David Wiese (16) scored a few important runs as Namibia reached home with the winning stroke coming in the first ball of the final over. Smit smacked it for a maximum.