Namibia’s Jan Frylinck registered the best Men's T20I figures by an player from an Associate Nation in their T20I match against the United Arab Emirates in Dubai. Riding on his stupendous bowling performance, Namibia clinched a 17-run win against the UAE in the contest.
Frylinck returned 6-24, and became the fifth male bowler to pick a six-wicket haul in this format across the world, after Ajantha Mendis (6-16 against Australia in 2011, and 6-8 against Zimbabwe in 2012), Yuzvendra Chahal (6-25 against England in 2017), Deepak Chahar (6-7 against Bangladesh in 2019), and Ashton Agar (6-30 against New Zealand in 2021).
Earlier, Namibia lost Zane Green (1) in the second over, after Ahmed Raza won the toss and asked them to bat. Stephan Baard (39) and Craig Williams (57 in 37 balls) added 85 in 61 balls for the second wicket to revive them from there. Gerhard Erasmus also scored 19-ball 27, but once they fell, wickets kept falling in regular intervals. Namibia were 108/2 in 13.3 overs before Baard’s departure, and managed 51 off the last 39 balls before closing on 159/8.
With 4-29, Zahoor Khan was the pick of the UAE bowlers. Kashif Daud (0-16) also bowled three tight overs, but did not get any wicket.
The UAE struggled to get going from the beginning of the chase. They were down to 21/1 in 5 overs, and then 41/2 in 8.3 overs after Chirag Suri (11) and Chundangapoyil Rizwan (11) departed cheaply. Waseem Muhammad made 39 off 35 balls, Muhammad Usman 28 off 27, but it was not enough for the UAE to get over the line. At No. 5, Basil Hameed played a breezy cameo (20 in 12) but received little support from the tail. As a result, they finished at 142/9.
For Namibia, Ruben Trumpelmann returned 2-22, and David Wiese 1-29. They will next play against Scotland on 9 October at the same venue.
Brief Scores: Namibia 159/8 in 20 overs (Craig Williams 57; Zahoor Khan 4-29) beat Unites Arab Emirates 142/9 in 20 overs (Waseem Muhammad 39; Jan Frylinck 6-24) by 17 runs. Player of the Match: Jan Frylinck.