BARBADOS (West Indies): Captain Richie Berrington’s effortless knock, Michael Leask’s all-round performance and Brad Wheal’s pace left Namibia bamboozled and helped Scotland clinch a five-wicket win at the Kensington Oval in the Group B clash of the ongoing T20 World Cup.
In a clash where momentum swung like a pendulum, Scotland maintained composure, sealed a win and moved to the top of the Group B table with three points. While chasing 156, Scotland found themselves stuck in a precarious situation. Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus and left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz made short work of the opening order.
Scotland were reduced to 73/4 in the 11th over and needed magic to pull themselves out of the jaws of defeat. Skipper Berrington and Leask steadied the ship with their 74-run stand. The duo pulled off a wide variety of shots from their arsenal to rattle Namibia’s high-flying bowling set-up.
Out of the two, Leask took the mantle of scoring runs and bringing down the constantly rising required rate. His influential 17-ball 35-run cameo, laced with four towering sixes kept the scoreboard pressure off Scotland.
In the 17th over, David Wiese spilled 19 runs, which made the job of Scotland much easier. Leask lost his wicket in the next over, but Berrington stayed till the end, slammed a six and sealed a 5-wicket win with more than an over to spare.
Earlier in the innings, after winning the toss, Namibia decided to bat, spearheaded by their skipper Erasmus. While wickets kept tumbling at one end, Erasmus stood tall with his 52 off 31 deliveries which was laced with five boundaries and two sixes.
He got support from Zane Green who kept the scoreboard ticking by rotating the strike. Green scored 28 off 29 deliveries which consisted of a four and a six.
For Namibia, Wheal provided a valuable contribution with the ball and scythed a three-wicket haul in his four-over spell and gave away 33 runs. Bradley Currie was economical during his four-over spell as he gave away 16 runs and picked up two wickets.
Brief scores: Namibia 155/9 (Gerhard Erasmus 52; Brad Wheal 3-33, Bradley Currie 2-16) vs Scotland 157/5 (Richie Berrington 47*, Michael Leask 35; Gerhard Erasmus 2-29). (ANI)