Namibia beat Uganda in Twenty20 qualifier

Namibia and Afghanistan won their fourth straight matches on Friday to remain undefeated and on pace to reach the
playoffs of World Twenty20 qualifying.

Namibia paid back Uganda for beating them in the African qualifiers by winning by four runs in a thrilling encounter that went down to the final ball.

Uganda gave the Namibia side a strong fight and it had looked like the Africa Regional Twenty20 champions would beat the in-form Namibia after Sarel Burger’s men had been put into bat.

“It’s a perfect start to the tournament, a start that everyone would want but we must take it game by game” Namibia’s Sarel Burger

Namibia batted first and, led by Raymond van Schoor’s 60 runs, set a target of 141.

Uganda, though, took to the chase and captain Davis Arinaitwe’s men looked set to beat their fellow Africans again.

Arthur Kyobe hit five boundaries and one six on his way to 38 but the middle order struggled against Burger and Chris Viljoen.

Still, Uganda only needed 10 runs off the last two balls. Frank Nsubuga had smashed four runs off Viljoen but the right-hander could only manage one run in the final over.

“It’s a perfect start to the tournament, a start that everyone would want but we must take it game by game,” Burger said.

“Being on a winning streak can be a difficult thing as you know some day it may well end so we just have to remain focused on each game.”

Frustrated

Uganda captain Arinaitwe was fuming over a loss that could have cost the team a chance to reach the playoffs. They are 2-2 and in fifth place in Group B.

“This was a game we could and should have won today,” he said.

“There is no time in Twenty20 cricket to dwell on today’s loss, we have to move on and we have to win every game we play from now on after tomorrow’s rest day.”

In Sharjah, Afghanistan beat Nepal by 34 runs, led by Karim Sadiq’s 52 off 39 balls that included a second-wicket stand of 86 with Mohammed Shahzad.

After opting to bat first, defending champions Afghanistan posted 157-6 in its 20 overs. In reply, Nepal were restricted to 123-6 in 20 overs.

Nepal lost wickets at regular intervals. Anil Mandal was the key contributor in the innings with his half century but few other batsmen could come to terms with Afghanistan’s bowling. Dawlat Zadran (2-16) and Mohammad Nabi (2-27) were the key wicket-takers. Sadiq also ended with figures of 1-23.

“As I mentioned yesterday, we want to keep winning and end the league stage unbeaten,” Sadiq said.

“I am glad I was able to contribute yet again with the bat for the side. My partnership with Shahzad turned the innings
around for us.”

In other matches, Ireland defeated the United States by 64 runs, and Scotland, led by Callum MacLeod’s century, beat Oman by 52 runs.

Papua New Guinea also won their second match in a row, beating Hong Kong by four wickets. Former England wicketkeeper Geraint Jones, making a comeback with the Pacific islanders, scored 34 runs off 26 balls.