Afghan bowlers stifle Eagles attack

ANDREW POOLMAN – The weight of Afghanistan as a bigger cricketing nation came down hard on Namibia in their T20 World Cup Super 12 match, as the Eagles’ successful run came to a halt with a 62-run loss in Abu Dhabi yesterday.Afghanistan, only two days after suffering their first loss of the tournament to Pakistan, elected to bat first and rack up 160 for five, before using their renowned spin bowling attack to nullify the Namibian batting reply.Although David Wiese provided most of the resistance with 26 runs off 30 balls, the Eagles were always unlikely to properly challenge the batting without significant contributions from opener Craig Williams (caught for 1) or JJ Smit (caught for 0). Zane Green, bowled by Rashid Khan, was also dismissed cheaply for 1.Besides Wiese, the other batsmen to make it into double figures without advancing much further, were Michael van Lingen (11 off 8 balls, one six), Nicol Loftie-Eaton (14 off 16, 1x6), Gerhard Erasmus (12 off 14 balls, 1x4 1x6) and number 10 batsman Ruben Trumpelmann (12 not out off 9 balls, 2x4).Naveen-ul-Haq’s spin bowling variations landed him the player of the match award with three wickets for 26 runs, while pace bowler Hamid Hassan struck with 3/9 in 4 overs and didn’t allow Namibia to go anywhere.Asghar Afghan, the most successful captain in T20I cricket who announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 33, ended his career with another win. Afghanistan though will be worried about their number three batsman Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who injured his right arm while going for a catch.Earlier, the Afganistan total of 160/5 was built on the opening stand of 53 between Hazratullah Zazai (33 off 27 balls) and the stocky wicketkeeper Mohammad Shahzad (45 off 33 balls). Asghar Afghan (31 off 23 balls, 3x4 1x6) and Gulbadin Naib (32 not out off 17 balls, 5x4 1x6) ensured that Afghanistan accelerated to take 51 runs off the final five overs.

Afghan bowlers stifle Eagles attack

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