Superhero Wiese aces Super Over for Namibia in thriller

Report

Wiese started the fireworks in the Super Over before also defending the total of 21 while bowling

David Wiese launched the first ball of the Super Over for a six  •  Getty Images

Namibia 109 for 6 (Frylinck 45, Mehran 3-7, Ilyas 1-17) beat Oman 109 (Kail 34, Trumpelmann 4-21, Wiese 3-28) via Super Over
Super Over Namibia 21 beat Oman 10

Oman mounted a dramatic comeback with the ball after being bundled out for 109 to take the match to a Super Over, but Namibia composed themselves to win the one-over eliminator and start their T20 World Cup 2024 campaign with a win.

This was the third time a men’s T20 World Cup game went to the Super Over and the first since 2012. David Wiese and Gerhard Erasmus took the attack to the seasoned Bilal Khan, racking up 21 runs, before Wiese ensured Oman couldn’t pull off a second comeback in the match.

David Wiese bosses the Super Over

On a pitch where batters from both teams struggled to score on, Wiese started the Super Over by drilling a full delivery outside off through covers. The next ball was a juicy full toss and he duly walloped it for a six wide of long-on.

Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus flick-swept the penultimate ball through square leg to pick up another boundary before squeezing a yorker past short third to take Namibia to the highest score in a T20 World Cup Super Over.

Wiese then gave away just two runs off his first two balls before getting Naseem Khushi to edge one onto the stumps.

Oman managed just a single off the next ball as the total went beyond their reach and Wiese closed out the win. Wiese became just the fourth player in men’s T20Is to bat and bowl in a Super Over.

Full report to follow…

Abhimanyu Bose is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo