T20 World Cup: Namibia captain Erasmus hopes to continue form after Super-Over win against Oman

Bridgetown (Barbados):  Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus wants to continue their form in the T20 World Cup after registering a thrilling Super-Over win against Oman in their tournament opener on Monday. In the low-scoring encounter, both teams posted identical 109 in their 20 overs. After the tied encounter, David Wiese’s all-round effort prevailed over them in the Super-Over at Kensington Oval.

“Happy to break the duck and get through in this tournament. We were very excited to come here and play in this competition, hopefully, we can continue this form,” Erasmus said in the post-match presentation.

He added that Wiese was clear to bowl in the Super-Over. “David was up in the change room and he was very clear that he wanted to bowl the Super-Over,” Erasmus said.

Talking about their batting innings, the Namibia skipper admitted that it was challenging to bat on and score boundaries.

“Difficult to get momentum through the innings, we tried by getting the singles and doubles but every now and then we needed those boundaries which were difficult to execute. On a pitch like that, you need to take responsibility after batting 15-20 balls, and you shouldn’t allow new batters to face.

“In the Super-Over we proved that there are runs to be had if you just assess the pitch well and take responsibility,” Erasmus said.

On the other hand, Oman captain Aqib Ilyas said they failed in execution in the Super-Over, bowled by Bilal. “I think Bilal is one of the best bowlers at the associate level, but there are days when you don’t execute. He was very clear, and we were very clear that he should bowl. But he didn’t execute, and the batsman did well. That is cricket, it happens,” he said.

“Would have enjoyed the game if we would have won, but this is part of cricket. Credit goes to Namibia. (On first innings) Credit goes to Trumpelmann for the way he executed, and then our batters adjusted well. However, when we were set we should have gone for more runs. We knew the wicket was on the turning side, and we could have put more pressure with some more runs on the board,” Ilyas added.

In their second group stage encounter, Oman will lock horns with Australia in Bridgetown on June 6 while Namibia will take on Scotland on June 7.

–IANS