David Wiese was the hero as Namibia edged out Oman in a super over thriller at the T20 World Cup in their Group B clash in Barbados.
Wiese smashed 13 runs off four balls with the bat in the first super over, before executing sensationally with the ball, restricting Oman to just ten runs to seal victory.
The match at Kensington Oval went to a super over after a nerve-jangling low-scoring battle which saw Oman bundled out for 109.
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Namibia’s run-chase then faltered after a stunning bowling performance by Oman’s Mehran Khan saw them finish on 109-6 to set up the super over drama.
At one point Namibia needed 18 runs from 18 balls with seven wickets in hand. Then
just seven runs from the last nine balls to win, but Mehrah Khan’s performance with the ball saw the game extended to a super over.
But Namibian talisman Wiese utilised all 377 games of T20 experience in his arsenal to lead Namibia to a win for the ages.
“Experience has no substitute,” one user wrote on X.
Another said: “Wiese made the difference.”
Jan Frylinck was the top-scorer for Namibia with a solid 45 runs from 48 balls, while Niko Davin (24) put some runs on early in their innings.
Mehran Khan was sensational with ball in hand, giving his side a shot at super over victory with figures of 3/7 in his three overs.
142KPH delivery STILL can’t budge bails | 00:34
Earlier, Ruben Trumpelmann bagged four wickets, including two with his first two balls, as Namibia skittled Oman for 109 all out in 19.4 overs in their T20 World Cup Group B clash in Barbados on Sunday.
South African-born fast bowler Trumpelmann trapped opener Kashyap Prajapati lbw for a golden duck with the first ball of the match, and then followed it up moments later with a toe-crusher to get rid of Oman skipper Aqib Ilyas for a duck.
Zeeshan Maqsood survived the Namibian quick’s hat-trick ball but there was little respite for Oman, who were soon three down after Trumpelmann claimed his third scalp in the third over.
Naseem Khushi attempted an ambitious slog over mid-off but instead failed to connect cleanly and was comfortably caught by Gerhard Erasmus.
Maqsood steadied the ship briefly for Oman with 22 off 20 balls, but his token resistance ended after falling lbw to Bernard Scholtz as Namibia’s decision to bowl first at the Kensington Oval continued to reap dividends.
Wickets continued to fall regularly as Namibia’s bowlers dominated a timid Oman batting line-up, with Erasmus taking the wickets of Ayaan Khan and Mohammad Nadeem to leave the Gulf state reeling at 78-6.
Trumpelmann grabbed his fourth wicket after removing Tangeni Lungameni lbw for 2, finishing with figures of 4-21 off four overs.
While Trumpelmann was the pick of the Namibian bowlers, David Wiese also caught the eye with 3-28 off 3.4 overs.
Namibia are playing in the T20 World Cup for only the third time after previous appearances in 2021 and 2022.