Photo Credit: ICC
With four overs to go, New Zealand and Namibia were in remarkably similar positions.
New Zealand were at 96 for four, with their captain and key man Kane Williamson back in the pavilion. Namibia were at 92 for four with their own skipper, Gerhard Erasmus, also out.
But that is about where the similarities ended in Sharjah. The Black Caps were able to call on Glenn Phillips and Jimmy Neesham and while Namibia had their own big-hitting wicketkeeper-batter in Zane Green, JJ Smit is not a match for the experienced Neesham in the all-rounder stakes.
And it showed, New Zealand blasting their way to 163 for four while the Eagles stumbled to 111 for seven at the end of their 20 overs.
Neesham had joined Phillips in the middle at the 14-over mark after Devon Conway was run out by some excellent fielding by Erasmus, who was supported by debutant bowler Karl Birkenstock at the stumps.
In their first two overs together, the pair added only nine runs but as the death overs arrived, so did their boundary hitting.
Erasmus had been tidy in his first three overs, conceding only eight as well as picking up his opposite number Williamson.
His last over was not as disciplined as New Zealand scored off every ball, with Phillips smashing a six to bring his side into three figures.
David Wiese suffered a worse fate as Neesham and Phillips both smashed him for six, Neesham also finding the gap for four to take 21 off the over.
It didn’t stop there. In the penultimate over, Ruben Trumpelmann was brought on for only his third over and conceded 14 off it as New Zealand neared the 150-mark.
Smit then prolonged Namibia’s misery, bowling four wides on his way to helping New Zealand to 163.
With Trent Boult and Tim Southee leading the bowling attack, New Zealand were confident of defending the target but they didn’t have it all their own way.
Adam Milne went for 12 at the end of the powerplay before Sodhi was dispatched for 14 runs by Wiese and Green in the 14th over to set up a potentially grandstand finish.
But with four overs left, Boult was as cool as ever, conceding just four as he looked to extinguish Namibia’s chances.
Southee was just as composed, not letting being hit for four affect him and accounting for Green with the very next delivery.
Boult dismissed two batters for ducks in his final over as Namibia’s chances were firmly snuffed out and all that was left was for Milne to deny the Eagles a final flourish in a miserly final over.
New Zealand had not only won the match, but they had also won the death overs – a key period which went a long way to deciding the ultimate outcome.
