T20 World Cup warm-up: McMullen helps Namibia pip Scotland; AFG beat WI
In a high-scoring thriller at the BCCI CoE Ground 2 in Bengaluru, Namibia prevailed over Scotland by a mere margin of six runs over Scotland in their T20 World Cup warmup fixture on Wednesday (February 4) despite Brandon McMullen's sparkling 95.
Having opted to bat first, Namibia's opening duo of Jan Frylinck (88) and Louren Steenkamp (51) went on a rampage, amassing 79 in the powerplay. Their partnership of 137 finally ended in the 11th over as leggie Chris Greaves dismissed Frylinck but an unbeaten 33 from captain Gerhard Erasmus and Ruben Trumpelmann's rapid 25 took Namibia to a whopping total of 226 for 4.
Scotland lost Michael Jones early in the chase but McMullen was in a menacing mood, wallopping six fours and eight sixes in his 39-ball knock. Mark Watt (33) and skipper Richie Berrington (46) duly played the support role at a brisk pace and it seemed as though Scotland would pull it off when 12 runs were needed off the final over. However, JJ Smit held his nerve admirably in the last over, castling Berrington while giving away just five runs to seal the deal for Namibia.
Brief Scores: Namibia 226/4 in 20 overs (Jan Frylinck 88, Louren Steenkamp 51, Mark Watt 1-19, Chris Greaves 1-33) beat Scotland 220/5 in 20 overs (Brandon McMullen 95, Richie Berrington 46, Max Heingo 2-44, Gerhard Erasmus 1-29) by six runs.
Afghanistan made it two wins out of two in the warmups, completing a comfortable 23-run victory over West Indies at the BCCI CoE Ground 1 in Bengaluru on Wednesday. West Indies opted to bowl first upon winning the toss but were subjected to a largely clinical batting display by the Afghans, who rode on a 90-run opening stand between Rahmanullah Gurbaz (43) and Ibrahim Zadran (51).
Sediqullah Atal endured a scratchy stay in the middle, but Azmatullah Omarzai plundered 24 runs off the 18th over sent down by Matthew Forde before retiring out. A quiet last two overs by Jason Holder and Shamar Joseph, however, ensured that they could not get to the 190-mark.
The chase never took off for West Indies, with Azmatullah Omarzai landing a telling double-blow early on to remove Brandon King and Shai Hope in quick succession. Wickets kept falling and by the time Rovman Powell was dismissed at the start of the 14th over, the writing was on the wall at 82/7. But Matthew Forde raced along to an unbeaten 26-ball 52 with four fours and as many sixes, spending valuable time in the middle ahead of the main draw. For the Afghans, Mujeeb Ur Rahman picked up a couple of wickets although interestingly enough, skipper Rashid Khan didn't bat or bowl.
Brief Scores: Afghanistan 182/6 in 20 overs (Ibrahim Zadran 51, Rahmanullah Gurbaz 43, Roston Chase 1-18, Gudakesh Motie 1-29) beat West Indies 159/7 in 20 overs (Matthew Forde 52*, Rovman Powell 32, Mujeeb Ur Rahman 2-19, Azmatullah Omarzai 2-33) by 23 runs
Rain in Colombo forced a washout in the day's third warmup fixture between Ireland and Pakistan at the Sinhalese Sports Club, even before the coin could go up for the toss. This was the only warmup fixture that Ireland and Pakistan were scheduled to take part in ahead of the main draw, with both teams engaged in bilateral assignments in the build-up to the World Cup month.
Pakistan will play the opener of the World Cup against Netherlands on Saturday (February 7), while Ireland kickstart their campaign against co-hosts Sri Lanka the following day. Both matches will take place at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
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