T20 World Cup | Pakistan look to fine tune machine against glory searching Namibia
Pakistan will be up against Namibia in the 31st match of the ICC T20 World Cup in the Sheikh Zayed Stadium of Abu Dhabi. A night game scheduled to start at 6 PM local time, this will be Pakistan's chance to seal their place in the semi-finals of the competition. Namibia on the other hand come into the game having lost their last one terribly against Afghanistan. The Gerhard Erasmus-led team came into the Super 12 after a strong show in the preliminary stage. Their famed left handed pace bowling attack has impressed many - and without a shadow of the doubt, they have punched above their weight. However, the Super 12s have been a different gravy all together and Namibia’s 62-run loss against Afghanistan speaks a lot about the level of competition they are playing in. They will be up against Pakistan in the same venue they lost to Afghanistan, however, they thankfully would not be playing a day game. Namibia’s pace bowling quadrant of Ruben Trumpelmann, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck and David Wiese have been in song in the last two games and have picked up a total of 10 wickets in the last two matches. Trumpelmann has been the pick among them and with a little hint of swing he can do the damage early on. This game will be Namibia’s litmus test in this World Cup given they face New Zealand and India in their remaining three matches. But this game means to them much more than that. Captain Gerhard Erasmus has gone on record several times explaining how important this tournament is for the cricketing culture of their country. They would be looking to set an example on 2nd November and play fearless cricket to make a name for themselves in the tournament. While there isn’t a lot of hope for them to emerge victorious, on the off chance they can, they will be able to make the group standings a little more interesting. Match Details Pakistan vs Namibia Match 31, Super 12, Group 2 Date & Time - 2 November, 7:30 PM IST (6 PM Local) Venue - Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Pitch Report With lots of dew starting to fall in the UAE, Abu Dhabi should play a good batting wicket. It is very possible that the ground will not assist much movement off the air, but bowling into the pitch might help the bowlers extract uneven bounce. Dew has played a big part in the last few games, so the toss might be a big factor once again. If you win the toss - bowl first. Team News Pakistan Pakistan have had a near perfect tournament till now. Well, near perfect. The form of Hasan Ali has been a concern for the team, given the bowler has gone for 10 RPO on two occasions already. His deficiencies have not come forth in a drastic manner due to the exceptional execution from Haris Rauf and Shaheen Shah Afridi, but on a bad day, Hasan Ali could cost Pakistan. Things aren’t just limited to Hasan Ali, Mohammad Hafeez has been found fielders on two straight occasions on the boundary line. One could argue that Devon Conway’s catch against New Zealand was out of the world but the fact remains that Hafeez has not found his range in the tournament. Apart from these, Pakistan have pretty much found their rhythm and would look to make use of the game to fine tune their batting approach. Probable XI Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoaib Malik, Asif Ali, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf Namibia Namibia’s hope would be pinned on David Wiese who has been quite a well known commodity in the Pakistan cricketing circles over the past few years. He has made a name for himself playing in the Pakistan Super League and Namibia would be relying on his experience against Pakistan. Probable XI Stephan Baard, Zane Green (wk), Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (c), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Michael van Lingen, Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Bernard Scholtz
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