India had a good outing with the ball against Namibia in their last match at the Super 12 stage. Spin duo Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin secured three wickets each to get a unique record to their name. Jadeja, Ashwin became the first Indian spin pair to pick three wickets in the same innings of a T20 World Cup match. The six wickets by spinners helped India restrict Namibia to a below par total of 132 runs in the first innings.
Both Jadeja and Ashwin were the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3/16 and 3/20 respectively. India started the match with three spinners including Rahul Chahar after skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl first in the dead rubber encounter. The occasion also served as the last match for Kohli as the captain of T20 side.
Ashwin returning to the fold after a four-year absence fromT20Is was on song. The veteran Tamil Nadu-born spinner hit the ground running with couple of wickets against Afghanistan. Against Namibia, he went one better with three wickets to his name. Ashwin picked his first wicket in the tenth over when he dismissed Jan Loftie-Eaton. He quickly doubled his wicket tally dismissing the captain Gerhard Erasmus. Wicketkeeper-batter Zane Green turned out to be his final victim on the evening.
Meanwhile, the left-arm spinner joined the party and found Namibia batters wrong-footed. On a wonderful delivery, Jadeja pulled back the length against an advancing Craig Williams to stump him. He followed it up with the wicket of Stefan Baard in the second over. The tally quickly rose to three as he dismissed JJ Smith in the fifteenth over.
Although the bowlers have come late with their A game in the tournament, it still promises to be a silver-lining for India. The bowling was criticised for their dismal showing in the opening two games, but their performances against Scotland and Afghanistan helped them improve their net run rate.
