New Zealand 163-4, 20 ov, Phillips 39* off 21,  1 four, 3 sixes, Neesham 35* off 23

1 four, 2 sixes, Scholtz 1-15, Wiese 1-40, Erasmus 1-22.

Namibia 111-7, 20 ov, Van Lingen 25 off 25, Southee 2-15, Boult 2-20.

New Zealand won by 52 runs

New Zealand Strengthened their chances of reaching the Men’s T20 World Cup Semi-finals defeating Namibia by 52 runs in Sharjah.

New Zealand will go through if they defeat Afghanistan in their final group game in Abu Dhabi, on Sunday.

 The Black Caps recovered from a slow start 87-4 off 14 overs having lost captain Kane Williamson and Devon Conway in quick succession,  with an unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 76 off 36 balls between Glenn Phillips 39 not out off 21, and Jimmy Neesham  35 not out ofof 23, to post 163-4. The pair clatterd 67 off the last four overs, including five sixes, to set Namibia a higher total than they have ever made against a top-tier nation in T20 internationals.

Namibia in reply their openers Stephan Baard and Michael van Lingen put on an opening stand of 47 before losing three wickets for just eight runs and after David Wiese fell in the 15^th over they collapsed to 111-7 off their 20 overs. New Zealand bowlers restricted Namibia to 26 runs off the last six overs.

 Slow left-armer Jadeja applied pressure by bowling Richie Berrington for a duck and then trapping Matthew Cross lbw to leave Scotland 29-4 after seven overs. Scotland could scrape only 81-6 after 16 over, only to lose three wickets in three balls. Calum Macleod and Alasdair Evans were bowled by Shami deliveries  either side of running Safyaan Sharif out before Mark Watt was trapped by Bumrah who has now 64, T20 International wickets.

New Zealand are second in Group 2 on six points with three wins from four games, but a lower net run-rate of 1.28 as opposed to Afghanistan’s 1.48 and India’s 1.62.

 

India trounce Scotland

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, Dubai.

Scotland 85 (17.4ov) Munsey 24 off 19, 4 fours, 1 six, Leask 21 off 12, 2 fours, 1 six, Shami 3-15, Jadeja 3-15, Bumrah 2-10, R Ashwin 1-29.

India 89-2 (6.3ov) KL Rahul 50 off 19, Rohit 30 off 16.

India won by eight wickets.

India are still in contention after they thrashed Scotland by eight wickets in Dubai and they still need Afghanistan to beat New Zealand, before winning their final game against Namibia on Monday.

India dismissed Scotland for 85 off 17.4 overs, with Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja taking 3-15.

 

KL Rahul thrashed his 50 from 18 balls, while Rohit Sharma hit 30 off 16 as India reached 89-2 in just 6.3 overs. This boosted India’s run-rate to 1.62 should multiple teams finish equal on the same points, above both New Zealand’s and Afghanistan’s in Group 2.

In the unlikely event of Black Caps slipping up, India could reach the final four with victory over Namibia on Monday.