Venue – Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
Time – 03:30 PM IST, 10:00 AM GMT
Where to watch live – Star Sports Network
Pitch Report
The pitch in Sharjah has been a sporting one thus far in the T20 tournament. Scoring boundaries hasn’t been overly tough, but the bowlers have also extracted a lot from the surface. Batting second should remain the way forward for the teams.
Average first innings score: 143 (8 T20Is in Sharjah in T20 World Cup 2021)
Record of Chasing teams: Won – 5, Lost – 3, Tied – 0
Probable Playing XIs
New Zealand
Martin Guptill, Daryl Mitchell, Kane Williamson (c), Devon Conway (wk), James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Adam Milne, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi, Trent Boult
Bench: Todd Astle, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Seifert, Mark Chapman
Namibia
Stephan Baard, Michael van Lingen, Craig Williams, Gerhard Erasmus (c), David Wiese, JJ Smit, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Ruben Trumpelmann, Zane Green (wk), Jan Frylinck, Ben Shikongo
Bench: Michau du Preez, Karl Birkenstock, Pikky Ya France, Bernard Scholtz
Head-to-head
New Zealand and Namibia are yet to face each other in T20Is.
Probable best batter of the match
Martin Guptill (New Zealand)
On Wednesday, Martin Guptill became the second male batter to notch 3000 runs in T20Is after Virat Kohli. He has been an integral part of the Black Caps’ setup for the last 12 years. In the previous match, the veteran looked at his very best, scoring 93 runs off 56 balls with the help of six fours and seven sixes. If Guptill gets going, Namibia could end up chasing leather.
Probable best bowler of the match
Trent Boult (New Zealand)
Trent Boult has been the standout bowler for New Zealand in the World Cup. With six wickets, he is currently the joint-highest wicket-taker for the Black Caps in the tournament alongside Ish Sodhi. The left-armer has performed efficiently both with the new ball and at the death. The Namibia batters need to be cautious while facing Boult in their next game.
