Afghanistan vs Namibia, 27th Match, Super 12 Group 2 - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: ICC Mens T20 World Cup 2021 Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Date & Time: Oct 31, 02:00 PM LOCAL

Afghanistan have won one and lost one so far. © AFP

BIG WIN FOR AFGHANISTAN

Hamid Hasan picks up brilliant figures of 3-9 in 4 overs as Afghanistan register a 82-run win. That was a completely dominant performance, and the margin of victory has given their NRR a big fillip.

Namibia's batters have proved no match for Afghanistan today. Gulbadin Naib and Hamid Hasan have ripped through their middle order after the early bursts from Naveen ul Haq. Main man David Wiese is still in there but it seems the game has slipped away from them.

WICKETJan Nicol Loftie-Eaton has been knocked over as he tries to give the charge. Gulbadin Naib strikes. The medium pacer starts off with a wicket maiden.

’s Rashid Khan, among players to play 50 or more T20Is no one has a higher Average Bowling Impact than Rashid Khan’s +5.8.

's Asghar Afghan who is playing his last match ❤️

with a 158 strike rate, he’s enjoyed Namibia’s left arm heavy bowling attack in the Powerplay so far.

70 3

TOSS:Afghanistan have won the toss and, predictably elected to bat. Veteran pacer returns to the side for Mujeeb ur Rahman, who have walked off the field in the previous game.

Teams:

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

Afghanistan (Playing XI): Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Shahzad (wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Najibullah Zadran, Asghar Afghan, Mohammad Nabi (c), Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Karim Janat, Hamid Hassan, Naveen-ul-Haq

Do you like how Afghanistan have batted in this tournament so far? While we wait for play to begin, here's something for you to read: They bat like Afghanistan

Asghar bids goodbye

Afghanistan would also want their inspirational former skipper Asghar Afghan to bid farewell on a winning note. The 33-year-old shockingly announced his retirement and has revealed that the clash against Namibia will be his final game in international cricket. Not sure what transpired for him to take a decision like that in the middle of the tournament but that's for another day. He holds the record for leading a side to most wins in T20I.

Build up

While the big focus on Super Sunday understandably lies in the evening game featuring India and New Zealand, both those teams know that they have competition for that second semifinal spot from their group. Afghanistan, amidst all the recent challenges, have shown they are not pushovers by any stretch. Their approach in this format certainly makes them a threat and these conditions suit them as well. Having already thrashed Scotland, they have a chance to further increase their chances of qualifying for the semifinal today with a win over Namibia.

If they can manage to do that on expected lines, India and New Zealand know they will be in a three-way battle to join Pakistan. Namibia have had a good tournament so far themselves but against Afghanistan's spin attack, not many lower ranked teams stand a chance. That attack almost managed to topple Pakistan just a couple of nights ago. If not for Asif Ali, this group would have been blown wide open by now. However, the Afghans will have to quickly put that loss behind and move forward.