T20 World Cup 2021: Day 4 Review – Sri Lanka enter Super 12, Namibia beat Netherlands

The fourth day of the ongoing T20 World Cup qualifiers saw Namibia taking on The Netherlands side and Sri Lanka squaring off against Ireland. Here is the round-up of the events that took place on 20th October 2021.

Here is what transpired in the day:

Sri Lanka thrashes Ireland by 70 runs to qualify for the Super 12s

Wielding the willow first, the Sri Lankan side was reduced to 8/3, and the Irish bowlers were on top. But then, opener Pathum Nissanka and Wanindu Hasaranga played sensational knocks for the Sri Lankan outfit. While Nissanka scored a fluent 47-ball 61, Hasaranga scored 71 off just 47 deliveries to help Sri Lanka post a total of 171/7.

Joshua Little was outstanding with the ball for Ireland. The left-arm pacer picked up 4 wickets in his quota of 4 overs and gave away just 23 runs. Apart from Little, Mark Adair scalped 2 wickets as well.

Chasing a target of 172, the Ireland outfit lost its first 3 wickets with just 32 runs on the board. After that, skipper Andrew Balbirnie and Curtis Campher steadied the Irish ship and put on a fighting partnership of 53 runs. But, in the 13th over of the innings, Campher was removed by Maheesh Theekshana for 24.

Ireland completely lost their way after that and were bowled out for 101. Andrew Balbirnie top-scored with a superb 41 off 39 deliveries. Maheesh Theekshana was the pick of the bowlers. The right-arm spinner prized out 3 willow wielders and gave away only 17 runs in his 4-over quota. Apart from Theekshana, the likes of Lahiru Kumara and Chamika Karunaratne scalped 2 wickets each. With this victory, Sri Lanka have qualified for the Super 12 stage.

Namibia comfortably coast past the Netherlands by 6 wickets

The Namibia side broke no sweat and beat the Netherlands side by 6 wickets in the first match of the day. The Netherlands batted first and posted a total of 164/4 on the board. Opener Max O’ Dowd top-scored for the Netherlands side, scoring a marvellous 56-ball 70 at the top of the order.

Apart from O’ Dowd, Colin Ackermann and Scott Edwards chipped in with handy contributions of 35 and 21* respectively as well. With the ball, Jan Frylinck scalped 2 wickets in the 4 overs that he bowled. Apart from Frylinck, David Wiese also picked up a solitary scalp as well.

In reply, Namibia was reduced to 52/3, but David Wiese stepped up for his side with the willow and scored a superb 66* off 40 deliveries. Wiese’s impressive innings helped the Namibia outfit coast past the target with 6 wickets and 1 over to spare. With the ball, the likes of Fred Klaassen, Colin Ackermann, Timm van der Gugten and Pieter Seelaar scalped a wicket each for The Netherlands.