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Wiith three wins out of three so far, Pakistan are on the brink of qualifying for the semi-finals and will be looking seal the spot with a win over Namibia in Abu Dhabi.
In the first-ever meeting between the two sides in T20Is, Namibia face their sternest test yet in the form of Pakistan, who have been unstoppable so far in the Super 12 of ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021.
Unbeaten in the World Cup so far, Pakistan have gone from dark horses for the tournament to one of the strong favourites in just three games. While bowling has historically been Pakistan's strong suit, the batting, led from the front by captain Babar Azam, has bailed the team out of trouble twice in the last two games.
Namibia, on the other hand, come into this game on the back of their first loss in the Super 12 to Afghanistan. While it was expected that the Eagles would find it difficult to deal with the spinners in Afghanistan's ranks, Namibia were done by the pacers who claimed seven of the nine wickets that fell.
As such, Namibia will have their task cut out facing the dangerous pace bowling trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali, who have accounted for 14 of the 21 wickets Pakistan have claimed so far. The spinners too have played their roles to perfection, giving little respite to opposition batters between overs of searing pace.
If the Namibian batting are to hold their own against Pakistan, they will be banking on their "Bomb Squad", consisting of captain Gerhard Erasmus, David Wiese and JJ Smit, to make a collective impact.
Fixture Details
The Match: Pakistan v Namibia, Match 31
Time: 18:00 Sunday 2 November
Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
The teams
Pakistan are unlikely to tinker with the combination that has won them games against India, New Zealand and Afghanistan and put them on top of Group 2.
Possible Pakistan XI: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi.
Namibia are unlikely to make wholesale changes despite the loss against Afghanistan but could look to strengthen their batting order by bringing back Stephen Baard in place of Pikky Ya France, who has gone wicketless in the tournament so far.
Possible Namibia XI: Stephen Baard, Michael van Lingen, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (captain), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Zane Green (wk), Jan Frylinck, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz.
Key players
Fakhar Zaman
Considering he is the only southpaw in Pakistan's top six, Fakhar Zaman will have a very important role to play in neutralising Namibia's left-arm heavy attack.
He struggled against New Zealand, taking 17 balls to get to 11, but found some sort of rhythm against Afghanistan with a 25-ball 30. After their opening game against India, Pakistan's openers haven't quite clicked in the previous two games.
If there comes a situation where Fakhar is out to bat early, Pakistan will hope he can dominate the Namibian bowling attack.
David Wiese
David Wiese was the lone warrior with the bat for Namibia in their 62-run defeat to Afghanistan on Sunday. Even as the rest of the batting order struggled to deal with the spin and pace, Wiese soldiered on, with him being the only batter to go past the 20-run mark.
Though his innings only delayed the inevitable, Namibia will be hoping their leading run-scorer in the tournament so far can lead the way against a strong Pakistan bowling attack.
Ladder situation
Pakistan can virtually seal a spot in the semi-finals with a win over Namibia. The Eagles, meanwhile, will be looking to pull off an upset and keep in touch with the four spots with games against New Zealand and India still remaining.
What they said
Pakistan's Shoaib Malik is not taking the game against Namibia lightly. He said, “Honestly, we’re not thinking of anything different because the T20 format is where you can’t take an opponent lightly. We’re completely confident, so we’re looking forward to the game.”
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus was honest in his assessment after the loss against Afghanistan. He said, "We are aware of the challenges. We need to make use of this level. This is a stepping stone for the future."
==
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In the first-ever meeting between the two sides in T20Is, Namibia face their sternest test yet in the form of Pakistan, who have been unstoppable so far in the Super 12 of ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021.
Unbeaten in the World Cup so far, Pakistan have gone from dark horses for the tournament to one of the strong favourites in just three games. While bowling has historically been Pakistan's strong suit, the batting, led from the front by captain Babar Azam, has bailed the team out of trouble twice in the last two games.
Namibia, on the other hand, come into this game on the back of their first loss in the Super 12 to Afghanistan. While it was expected that the Eagles would find it difficult to deal with the spinners in Afghanistan's ranks, Namibia were done by the pacers who claimed seven of the nine wickets that fell.
As such, Namibia will have their task cut out facing the dangerous pace bowling trio of Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Hasan Ali, who have accounted for 14 of the 21 wickets Pakistan have claimed so far. The spinners too have played their roles to perfection, giving little respite to opposition batters between overs of searing pace.
If the Namibian batting are to hold their own against Pakistan, they will be banking on their "Bomb Squad", consisting of captain Gerhard Erasmus, David Wiese and JJ Smit, to make a collective impact.
Fixture Details
The Match: Pakistan v Namibia, Match 31
Time: 18:00 Sunday 2 November
Venue: Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi
The teams
Pakistan are unlikely to tinker with the combination that has won them games against India, New Zealand and Afghanistan and put them on top of Group 2.
Possible Pakistan XI: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi.
Namibia are unlikely to make wholesale changes despite the loss against Afghanistan but could look to strengthen their batting order by bringing back Stephen Baard in place of Pikky Ya France, who has gone wicketless in the tournament so far.
Possible Namibia XI: Stephen Baard, Michael van Lingen, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (captain), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Zane Green (wk), Jan Frylinck, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz.
Key players
Fakhar Zaman
Considering he is the only southpaw in Pakistan's top six, Fakhar Zaman will have a very important role to play in neutralising Namibia's left-arm heavy attack.
He struggled against New Zealand, taking 17 balls to get to 11, but found some sort of rhythm against Afghanistan with a 25-ball 30. After their opening game against India, Pakistan's openers haven't quite clicked in the previous two games.
If there comes a situation where Fakhar is out to bat early, Pakistan will hope he can dominate the Namibian bowling attack.
David Wiese
David Wiese was the lone warrior with the bat for Namibia in their 62-run defeat to Afghanistan on Sunday. Even as the rest of the batting order struggled to deal with the spin and pace, Wiese soldiered on, with him being the only batter to go past the 20-run mark.
Though his innings only delayed the inevitable, Namibia will be hoping their leading run-scorer in the tournament so far can lead the way against a strong Pakistan bowling attack.
Ladder situation
Pakistan can virtually seal a spot in the semi-finals with a win over Namibia. The Eagles, meanwhile, will be looking to pull off an upset and keep in touch with the four spots with games against New Zealand and India still remaining.
What they said
Pakistan's Shoaib Malik is not taking the game against Namibia lightly. He said, “Honestly, we’re not thinking of anything different because the T20 format is where you can’t take an opponent lightly. We’re completely confident, so we’re looking forward to the game.”
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus was honest in his assessment after the loss against Afghanistan. He said, "We are aware of the challenges. We need to make use of this level. This is a stepping stone for the future."
==
All posters please take note of the following guidelines for match threads on PakPassion:
1. No personal insults at other posters, players, officials, coaching staffs etc.
2. No making fun of player's, official's, coaching staff's names.
3. Do not add any references to media, their social media or post any pictures or screenshots from other sports websites.
4. Stick to commenting on this match. There is no need to bring other countries into the match discussion as there are plenty of other threads where those discussions can be added.
5. Report abuse. If you see any post which is inappropriate, report it. Do not respond to it
