Sharjah, Nov 5: Glenn Philips and Jimmy Neesham’s game changing partnership on a tricky surface helped New Zealand beat Namibia by 52 runs in a Super 12 game here on Friday and stay on course for a semifinal berth in the T20 World Cup.
Courtesy some late-hitting by Phillips (39* off 21 balls) and Neesham (35* off 23 balls), New Zealand posted 163 for four and then restricted the opposition to 111/7 to complete a convincing win.
Tim Southee (2/15), Trent Boult (2/20), Mitchell Santner (1/20), Ish Sodhi (1/22) and Jimmy Neesham (1/6) shared the wickets.
The win also meant that Kiwis jumped to the second spot in the standings and now have six points with a net run rate of +1.277. They play Afghanistan on Sunday in what could be a virtual quarterfinal.
Chasing 164, Namibia openers Stephen Baard (21) and Michael van Lingen (25) conjured 47-runs for the opening wicket.
But New Zealand sent back both the openers, first Neesham cleaned up Lingen in the eight over and then 29-year-old slow left-arm orthodox bowler Santner castled Baard with Namibia slipping to 51/2.
Leggie Sodhi removed rival skipper Gerhard Erasmus (3) cheaply to put tighten the screws on Namibia. Zane Green (23) and David Wiese (16) only delayed the inevitable and experienced pacer Southee trapped the latter in front in the 15th over to dash the remaining opposition hopes.
Earlier, Phillips and Neesham took the Namibian attack to the cleaners and propelled New Zealand past 150 which looked unlikely at one stage.
New Zealand were struggling at 87/4, but brutal hitting by Phillips and Neesham ensured that the Kiwis were back in the game. The duo added 76 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket in just 36 balls.
While Phillips hammered one four and three sixes, Neesham struck one boundary and two sixes. (PTI)
