ABU DHABI :Super 12s – Pakistan piled up 189 runs for the loss of only 2 wickets after captain Babar Azam won the toss and decided to bat first. The dominant opening partnership continued between Mohamed Rizwan and Babar Azam, where they put together 113 runs. Mohammad Rizwan top-scored with 79 runs (off 50 balls) with four sixers to his credit. Captain Azam batted brilliantly to hit 70 off 49 balls. Mohammad Hafeez enjoyed his time in the middle with a glittering 32 off just 16 balls with five boundaries. Rizwan started off his innings very conservative but by the end of the innings he hit 24 runs in the last and stood tall unbeaten (79*).
Namibia Eagles chased bravely to achieve 70 runs at the end of the first 10 overs. Contributions by opener Baard (29 runs), Craig Williams (40 runs), David Wiese (37* runs) and captain Erasmus (15 runs) saw Namibia reaching 144 for 5 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. The required run rate was a big ask however Namibia Eagles batted fearlessly with positive attitude.
Pakistan won by 45 runs and picked up their 4th win out of the 4 matches played. With only a match against Scotland which is scheduled on 7th November pending Babar Azam leads his team to the Semi Finals in grand style. Afghanistan is in the 2nd position in the Group 2 points table soon followed by New Zealand at 3rd place.
Mohamed Rizwan was named the player of the match for his brilliance in batting and wicket keeping. (RZ)
[Image credit icc-cricket.com]
