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Namibia suffered a narrow three-run defeat against Scotland in the 16th-place playoff match in the ongoing ICC Under-19 World Cup 2024. Zacheo van Vuuren's 86-run knock went in vain as he failed to finish the match and got out off the penultimate delivery of the run chase to Ibrahim Faisal.
Earlier, Scotland skipper Owen Gould won the toss and opted to bat first. Jack Brassell and Junior Kariata struck early as Adi Hegde and Alec Price departed after scoring just one run reach. Gould scored 35 runs from 58 balls. He shared an 80-run partnership with opener Jamie Dunk which was broken by PD Blignaut. Dunk continued to anchor the innings. He was heading towards three figures before Blignaut ended his stay at the crease. The opener scored 76 runs from 93 balls featuring eight fours. In the middle overs, Faf du Plessis was unimpressive as he conceded 21 runs from three overs and remained wicketless.
A few overs later, Uzair Ahmad became Van Vuuren's first victim of the day. Bahadar Esakhiel pushed the scoring rate but did not get support from Rory Grant who could score five runs from 17 balls. In the 46th over, he lost his wicket to Van Vuuren. In the final over, Esakheil went berserk and smashed four sixes off Van Vuuren's bowling. He took Scotland's score to 251/6. He smashed six sixes and four fours in his unbeaten 54-ball 76.
In the run chase, opener Gerhard Rensburg and Johannes de Villiers fell cheaply to Faisal. Johannes Visagie and Van Vuuren took control of the run chase. In the 33rd over, Hegde trapped Visagie in front of the stumps. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 69 runs from 87 balls featuring nine fours. Van Vuuren struggled to accelerate. He had help from skipper Alexander Volschenk who hit two sixes and one four in his 30-ball 32 before falling to Wasim Khan. In his next over, Khan got the wicket of Ben Brassell.
In the slog overs, Blignaut kept Namibia in the hunt hitting three boundaries in his 13-ball 20. In the final over, it was upto Van Vuuren. On the final four balls, Namibia needed 14 runs. Faisal gave a freebie bowling five wides but he followed it up with two dot balls. On the penultimate ball, Van Vuuren lost his wicket. He scored 86 runs from 119 balls including five fours. On the final ball, Jack needed to hit a six but managed a couple of runs as Namibia lost by three runs.
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