Bridgetown [Barbados], June 3 (ANI): Ruben Trumpelmann’s lethal spell, Gerhard Erasmus and David Wiese’s spells helped Namibia demolished Oman for 109 in the first game of Group B of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2024 match here at the Kensington Oval on Sunday (local time).
Trumpelmann’s scintillating pace attack jolted Oman, taking three wickets inside the powerplay and the pacer went on to pick his fourth wicket of the night, returning with a figure of 4-21. Captian Erasmus with his crafty bowling picked two wickets while the seasoned pacer David Wiese bagged three scalps, conceding 28 runs in 3.4 overs.
Opted to bowl first, Ruben Trumpelmann drew the first blood as he got into the act with the first ball, trapping Oman opener Kashyap Prajapati for LBW with a superb yorker on his very first delivery.
The very next ball, Trumpelmann delivered another magnificent yorker that caught Oman skipper Aqib Ilyas off guard, and the batter went lbw for a duck.
The left-arm pacer had a third in his second over when Naseem Khushi attempted to drive him down the track but only found Erasmus at mid-off. Experienced player Zeeshan Maqsod held the innings together during the first powerplay, keeping Oman’s innings steady and increasing the scoring rate to run a ball.
However, Bernard Scholtz had him leg before wicket in the seventh over, putting Oman farther behind. The spinner’s disciplined bowling ensured that Oman’s lower order did not take advantage of the change in speed.
Scholtz and Erasmus continued to provide breakthroughs for the Eagles, even as Oman batters battled to move the ball past the inner circle.
Oman failed to knock a single boundary in 44 deliveries between the 10th and 17th overs. Khalid Kail then led Oman’s change as the batter slammed big shots before falling prey to David Wiese after scoring 34 runs in 39 balls.
When Namibia pacers arrived in the death overs, the Asian side attempted to pick up the scoring rate, but David Wiese and Trumpelmann nibbled away at the tail, bowling Oman out before they could complete their quota of overs.
Brief score: Oman 109 (Khalid Kail 34, Zeeshan Maqsood 22); Ruben Trumpelmann 4-21) vs Namibia. (ANI)
