India will be looking to end their T20 World Cup 2021 on a high when they meet Namibia in their last group game at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The match is a mere formality for both teams as neither can qualify for the semi-finals.
India’s chances of qualifying for the semi-finals ended when New Zealand beat Afghanistan in match 40. India endured a tough World Cup campaign as they lost their first two matches against Pakistan and the Kiwis. The team bounced back well as they then beat Afghanistan and Scotland. But the team’s chances of qualifying for the semis hinged on Afghanistan defeating New Zealand. However, the result of Afghanistan-New Zealand fixture did not pan out the way India hoped. The result killed India’s chances of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Namibia were impressive in round 1 of the tournament which saw them qualify for the ‘Super 12’ stage. The team started their ‘Super 12’ stage well as they beat Scotland. They struggled in their subsequent matches, going down against Afghanistan, Pakistan and New Zealand.
India’s strengths:
After two disappointing outings against Pakistan and New Zealand, India’s opening pair of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma have roared back to form. Against Afghanistan, Rahul and Rohit scored 69 and 74, respectively. Rohit scored a brisk 30 against Scotland and Rahul hit the fastest fifty of the tournament against the Scots. Skipper Virat Kohli would be hoping that Rahul and Rohit continue their rich vein of form against Namibia as well.
India’s weaknesses:
Hardik Pandya has failed to deliver with both the ball and bat on a consistent basis in this tournament.
Namibia’s strengths:
David Wiese and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton have been in good form with both the ball as well as bat. Wiese has scored 146 runs from 7 innings and picked 6 wickets. Loftie-Eaton is a handy batter lower down the order. With the ball, he troubled Afghan batters with a canny spell of 2/21.
Namibia’s weaknesses:
Namibian opener Michael van Lingen has been struggling to get runs on a consistent basis. In his last three outings, he has scored 11, 4 and 25.
Head-to-head
This will be the first time that the two teams are meeting in a T20I match.
Form Guide:
India: W-W-L-L-L
Namibia: L-L-L-W-W
Pitch and conditions
The pitch is going to help the chasing team. Expect a fast bouncy track for this match which could result in a high-scoring fixture. The evening will mainly be clear and warm. The temperature is expected to be around 27 degrees Celsius with humidity level around 58 per cent.
Team news
No injury concern for either team.
Deccan Herald’s Dream XI
KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Gerhard Erasmus, Rishabh Pant (wk), David Wiese, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruben Trumpelmann, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin
Impact player for India
KL Rahul: The Indian opener has roared back to form and has two fifties in his previous two innings. Rahul holds the record of the fastest fifty in this World Cup as he completed his half-century in just 18 balls against Scotland.
Impact player for Namibia
Gerhard Erasmus: The Namibian skipper is the team’s leading run-scorer scoring 139 runs from 7 outings. Erasmus bowled a decent spell of 4-0-22-1 in Namibia’s previous game.
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