Leg-spinner Adam Zampa starred again in the middle overs as Australia annihilated Namibia by nine wickets on IST Wedenesday to qualify for the Super 8 stage of the T20 World Cup.
Australia put up a complete bowling performance to dismiss Namibia for a meagre 72 before gunning down the target in just 34 balls with Travis Head and skipper Mitchell Marsh remaining not out on 34 and 18, respectively.
With three wins in a row, Australia thus stormed into the Super Eight from Group B with a match in hand. They take on Scotland at Gros Islet in their concluding group-stage fixture on Saturday.
For Namibia, it was their second loss in three games, eliminating them from the Super 8 race.
Josh Hazlewood (2/18) removed openers Michael Van Lingen and Niko Davin before Zampa (4/12) got into the act to run through Namibia, who ended with their lowest total in T20Is.
Zampa reached a major landmark in the game as he became the first Australian bowler to take 100 wickets in T20Is.
Opening the bowling alongside Hazlewood, Marcus Stoinis (2/9) also took a couple of wickets, while Pat Cummins and Nathan Ellis chipped in with a wicket each.
“It was a great performance from the bowling team.
“Swing was around and overall, a professional performance. It’s really important and great to qualify for the Super Eights,” Marsh said after the thumping win.
He reserved special praise for Zampa, who has tallied eight wickets in three games. “If you look at his career over the last four-five years, he is probably our most important player. He loves the pressure and he is bowling well at the moment, and we are lucky to have him,” Marsh stated.
The Australian opening duo of David Warner (20 off 8 balls) and Head (34 off 17 balls) were in a hurry to get the job done, giving the team a flying start. Both collected boundaries on either side of the wicket before Warner was caught at mid-off in the second over.
Marsh joined Head and unleased a few punchy drivers on the off-side as Australia cantered to a comprehensive win.
Earlier, skipper Gerhard Erasmus top-scored for Namibia with 36 off 43 balls.
Reeling at 43/8, Namibia managed to cross the 50-run mark courtesy a lone hand from Erasmus.
“You can’t sit back against the best in the world. The skill gap is there, we tried to
close that by fighting fire with fire, but we did not do that in this tournament so far,” said Erasmus.
Brief scores: Namibia 72 in 17 overs (Gerhard Erasumus 36; Adam Zampa 4/12). Australia 74/1 in 5.2 overs (Travis Head 34 not out). Australia won by 9 wickets.
Written with PTI inputs
