Muhammad Waseem came up with an all-round show as UAE scripted their first-ever T20 World Cup win, defeating Namibia by seven runs in the concluding Group A match at Geelong on Thursday. (More Cricket News)
Courtesy of UAE's win, the Netherlands qualified for the Super 12 from Group A, along with Sri Lanka, while Namibia, who were in the reckoning before the match, got also eliminated.
UAE were already eliminated after Sri Lanka beat the Netherlands by 16 runs earlier in the day.
Chasing 149 for a win on a two-paced pitch, Namibia lost half their side within 10 overs and it was then left to the seasoned David Wiese to steer their ship. He hit 3 fours and as many sixes for his 36-ball 55.
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But the effort proved insufficient, as Muhammad Waseem (1/16 from 2 overs) came out on top with a perfect final over and dismissed David Wiese to seal a memorable victory.
David Wiese had a superb 70-run eighth-wicket partnership with Ruben Trumpelmann, who played the perfect foil with occasional boundaries and clever rotation of the strike in his 25 not out off 24 balls.
Namibia needed 20 runs from the last two overs, but Zahoor Khan came up with a perfect penultimate over and conceded just six runs, cleverly mixing up his deliveries and bowling with cross seam.
With pressure building on him, Wiese went for a big hit in the final over and holed out at the long on boundary.
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Earlier, Muhammad Waseem slammed a composed 50 (41b; 1x4, 3x6) while skipper Chundangapoyil Rizwan remained unbeaten on 43 from 29 deliveries to take UAE to a fighting 148 for 3 after electing to bat.
They got off to a slow start with Vritya Aravind struggling to step up before being dismissed for 21 from 32 deliveries.
Once Chundangapoyil Rizwan joined Muhammad Waseem at the crease, runs started flowing.
After Muhammad Waseem's departure, Basil Hameed (25 not out; 14 balls) provided the late push, scoring 33 runs in the last two overs, along with Chundangapoyil Rizwan who remained not out.
