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Dubai: Afghanistan maintained their unbeaten tag as they defeated Namibia in Match 11 of Desert T20 Challenge 2017.
This was the last match of league stage as the two Group A competitors fought it out at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
Afghanistan dominated Namibia throughout the match as they first posted 167 for 6 batting first and then went on to restrict the opponents at 103, snatching a 63-run victory. Afghanistan, with the victory, went to semi-final as the table-toppers with three victories along with Ireland from Group A. They will compete in the first semi-final on Friday.
Afghanistan won the toss and elected to bat. Nawroz Mangal and Mohammad Shahzad opened batting. They provided Afghanistan with a good start, bringing up fifty runs on the board. Mangal departed scoring 32 while Shahzad later departed for a run-a-ball 31.
Skipper Asghar Stanikzai's 23-ball 31 was a good contribution in the middle-order while Samiullah Shenwari’s quickfire 35 helped the team accelerate the run rate and get to the total.
Though they kept losing wickets at regular interval, they batted fearlessly and put up the competitive target. Among the bowlers for Namibia, Bernard Scholtz was the most successful with his 3 for 17 while Christopher Coombe picked up 2 wickets.
Chasing 168, Namibia looked nowhere in contention as they lost 4 wickets for 7 runs in 3 overs. Gerrie Snyman and Jan Frylinck put up some competition, Snyman scored 26 while Frylinck added 28 but could not save the side from a 63-run getting.
Bowling for Afghanistan, Amir Hamza came in to action early while Rashid Khan’s 3 for ended things soon for Namibia.
Brief scores:
Afghanistan - 167 for 6 (Shenwari 35, Mangal 32, Shahzad 31, Asghar Stanikzai 31, Scholtz 3-17)
Namibia - 103 (Frylinck 28, Rashid Khan 3-4)
Result - Afghanistan won by 63 runs.
