T20 World Cup 2021 | This is one heck of an achievement, says Erasmus after Namibia's historic win to enter super 12s

After Namibia registered an eight-wicket victory against Ireland on Friday, captain Gerhard Erasmus has stated that his teammates should be proud of what they have achieved in the tournament. Namibia will join India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Scotland in Group 2 in the Super 12 round.

Notably, Namibia are playing in their first-ever T20 World Cup and have become the second Associate team after Scotland to qualify for the Super 12s. Scotland on Thursday defeated Oman to finish as table-toppers in Group B consisting of Bangladesh, who will join Australia, New Zealand, England, West Indies and Sri Lanka. India will now face Scotland on November 5 and Namibia on October 8. 

After winning the toss, Ireland opted to bat first, and openers Paul Stirling (38) and Kevin O'Brien (25) started off well as they partnered for a 62-run stand for the opening wicket. Andrew Balbirnie, who walked out to bat after the dismissal of Stirling, could manage only a 28-ball 21. The Namibia bowlers restricted the opposition batsmen from scoring runs and scalped wickets at regular intervals and bundled out Ireland for 125. David Wiese clinched two wickets by conceding just 22 runs off his four overs, whereas Jan Frylinck became the pick of the bowlers with 3 scalps in the match.

In pursuit of 126 runs, Namibia openers failed to accelerate the run rate, and Craig Williams (15 off 16 balls) fell to  Curtis Campher in the sixth over. Captain Gerhard Erasmus who walked out to bat after the dismissal of Willimas stood solid at one end and partnered for a 48-run stand with Zane Green (24 off 32 balls) before the latter departed in the 14th over. Erasmus (53*) joined hands with David Wiese (28 not out off 14 balls) to help Namibia register their second T20 World Cup victory, which sealed their spot in the Super 12 stage.

Reflecting on his team's performance and qualification to the Super 12, captain Gerhard Erasmus stated that the Namibia players should be proud of themselves for what they have achieved in the T20 World Cup. He further added that the team is hopeful of continuing the good performance throughout the tournament. 

"We said in the previous press conference that we are in a pretty tight ship and I think for a small cricketing nation, we are very proud and it means a lot. I think the achievement is one heck of a one and I think we should be proud of ourselves tonight. I count on my senior players (Wiese) to stand up when the pressure is on in a tough game like this and two of us did it tonight and hopefully throughout the tournament we can continue doing that. Not yet (has it sunk in yet?), maybe on the way back home or maybe only tomorrow or maybe at the end of the tournament," said Erasmus after the match.

David Wiese, who was adjudged Man of the Match for his brilliant performance with the bat and ball, lauded Erasmus for his sensible fifty against Ireland. The 36-year-old further stated that the victory is completely overwhelming, and the players worked really hard for qualifying to the Super 12 stage.

"It’s completely overwhelming. I didn’t think I would get this award after the way Erasmus’ batted. It was a proper captain’s innings. I'm accepting this but I think it belongs to him. Lot of hard work has gone into this from the boys. There were a few minor blips but overall, it was a strong performance," said Wiese after the match

Namibia will join India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Scotland in Group 2 in the Super 12 round.