Botswana on the verge of progressing in T20 qualifiers
Mqondisi Dube | Wednesday October 31, 2018 16:46
The qualifiers, being played in Gaborone, have seen Namibia and the hosts stamp their authority as favorites to progress to the next round of the 2020 T20 World Cup qualifiers.
Two teams from the seven participating countries will progress to the next round, scheduled for Uganda next year.
Botswana opened their campaign with a 123 run demolition of Mozambique on Sunday after posting an imposing 171 for victory. The Mozambicans could only manage a paltry 49 in a chase that never got going.
On Tuesday, Botswana registered two critical victories, getting rid of a previously unbeaten St Helena, in the morning clash. Botswana managed 144, and while a fierce contest was expected, the Islanders were bundled out for 63 with seamer, Nabil Master particularly impressive, bowling with frightening pace to stifle the opposition.
But in the afternoon fixture, Malawi gave Botswana a mighty scare, falling just 15 runs short of victory.
Batting first, the hosts managed 158 before a spirited Malawi came agonisingly close to an upset, as they finished on 143/7 in their 20 overs.
Namibia, who came into the tournament as overwhelming favourites, have lived-up to their status, after crushing Swaziland by 10 wickets on the opening day. Swaziland batted first and found the going tough, and Namibia chased down the victory target of 73 within the first five overs.
They did not raise a sweat against Malawi, as they managed a comfortable eight wicket victory with 47 balls remaining.
Namibia posted the biggest total of the tournament against Malawi, after a haul of 229 runs. Malawi could only manage 104 in reply.
No upsets are expected in the remaining fixtures, with Botswana and Namibia now headed for a decisive showdown at the BCA Oval on Saturday morning, which will bring the curtain down on the tournament.