After a close defeat to Pakistan, Afghanistan bounced back well and registered its second win in the tournament. It had beaten Namibia and added two more points in its kitty. Afghanistan batted first and made a score of 160/5 in 20 overs. Namibia completely failed in chasing it and managed to score only 98/9 in 20 overs and lost the match by 62 runs.
Afghanistan had won the toss and elected to bat first. Openers Hazratullah and Mohammed Shahzad gave a stunning start to them and made a partnership of 53 runs for the first wicket. But soon, Namibia bounced back hard and started taking wickets at regular intervals. Thus, Afghanistan, which had got a great start, couldn’t capitalize on the momentum and was able to score a moderate total of 160 runs. Shahzad (45), Hazratullah (33), Nabi (32*), and Asghar Afghan (31) have been the top scorers in their team. Ruben Trumpelmann (2/34) and Loftie-Eaton (2/21) scalped two wickets each for Namibia.
Namibia was never really in this chase. It lost the wicket of opener Craig Williams right in the first over. Afghan bowlers then scalped wickets in every two overs and never allowed Namibia to go hard against them. Thus, Namibia was able to score only 98 runs by the end of its innings. David Wiese (26) remained the top scorer for Namibia. Naveen-ul-Haq (3/26) and Hameed Hassan (3/9) took three wickets each for Afghanistan.
Namibia will next face Pakistan on November 2. On the flip side, Afghanistan will take on India on November 3.