Muhammad Waseem came up with an all-around show as the United Arab Emirates penned their first T20 World Cup victory, defeating Namibia by seven runs in the final match of pool A.
Courtesy of the UAE victory, the Netherlands qualified for the Super 12 from Group A, along with Sri Lanka, while Namibia, who were in the account before the match, were also eliminated. The United Arab Emirates was already eliminated after Sri Lanka beat the Netherlands by 16 runs on the same day. Chasing 149 for a win in a two-tempo field, Namibia lost half their team in 10 overs and then it was left to the experienced David Wiese to steer their ship with 55 from 36 balls. He hit three fours and as many sixes.
But the effort proved insufficient as Waseem (1/16 of two overs) prevailed with a perfect final over and dismissed Wiese to seal a memorable victory.
Long ago!
We can reveal that this 6th of Rizwan is one of the moments that could star your @0xFanCraze Crits of the Namibia v UAE Game packs. Grab your pack from https://t.co/EaGDgPxhJN to own iconic moments from each game. pic.twitter.com/R2DoYmKg5s
— T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) October 20, 2022
Wiese had a fine eighth-wicket 70-run partnership with Ruben Turmpelmann, who played perfect foil with occasional caps and clever strike rotation on his 25, not 24 balls. Namibia needed 20 runs in the last two overs, but Zahoor Khan came up with a perfect penultimate over and conceded just six runs, cleverly mixing up his delivery and cross-seam delivery.
With the pressure on him, Wiese looked for a big shot in the final over and pocketed at the long limit. Earlier, Waseem scored 50 (41b) composites, while skipper CP Rizwan remained undefeated on 43 of 29 deliveries to take the UAE to 148 fighting for three after choosing to bat. They got off to a slow start with Vritya Aravind struggling to make a step forward and was sacked for 21 of 32 deliveries.
But once Rizwan joined Waseem in the crease, the races began to flow. After Waseem’s exit, Basil Hameed 25 no out provided the late push, scoring 33 runs in the last two overs, along with Rizwan, who was not left out.
