Big-hitting fish-farmer Louis van der Westhuizen hit a century as Namibia trounced Scotland in the World Twenty20 qualifiers on Wednesday to rack up a second win in two matches.
Nepal’s wrist-spinner Shakti Gauchan grabbed a share of the headlines with a hat-trick in his team’s win over Denmark, while defending champions Afghanistan also celebrated a second win in the 16-nation tournament.
Van der Westhuizen, 23, hit an unbeaten 54-ball 106 (eight fours, eight sixes) against Scotland as Namibia claimed a 49-run win.
His knock helped Namibia put on 192-3 in their 20 overs, while Scotland ended up at 143-8.
“I really feel that I am seeing the ball well and hitting it with confidence,” van der Westhuizen said.
“The confidence of the side is high and we have a really good team spirit, which means I feel like I have the freedom to play. We had two big games up first [Ireland and Scotland] and to win those were our first goals, and from now on it is game by game for us,” he added.
Gauchan claimed a hat-trick in a spell of four for 20 to lead Nepal to a crushing nine-wicket victory over Denmark.
Gauchan claimed the wickets of Rizwan Mahmood, Aftab Ahmed and Kamran Mahmood in the 13th over to record the first hat-trick of the ongoing tournament.
“I have taken one hat-trick in domestic cricket before, but this is my first international hat-trick,” he said.
“It was a very good time to take a hat-trick in a match for me. When I took my hat-trick, I ran away from the wicket and slid on my chest like a football player,” Gauchan added.
Afghanistan beat the Netherlands by four wickets after a fine half-century by Mohammad Shahzad, Canada registered a seven-wicket win over Papua New Guinea, Uganda scripted a second hard-fought win when they defeated Oman, and Hong Kong surprised Bermuda by eight wickets.
“We had a clear plan when we out for the chase. I think it worked out well, because I had to do the hitting,” said Afghanistan’s man of the match Shahzad, who hit 54.
“Others, like Nawroz Mangal and Mohammad Nabi, batted around me. I think 150 was a good score to chase, since this effort will come in handy during the later stages of the tournament,” he said.
Ireland registered a comprehensive 10-wicket win over Ken-ya, while Italy scored a narrow eight-run success over the US.
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