Debutants Namibia extend impressive run with win over Scotland in Super 12s
Abu Dhabi, Oct 27: Debutants Namibia got themselves out of a difficult situation in a low-scoring game to record a memorable four-wicket win over Scotland in their opening Super 12 match in the ICC T20 World Cup here on Wednesday.
Namibia, who had beaten Ireland and Netherlands to qualify for the Super 12 stage, restricted Scotland to 109 for eight after left-arm pacer Ruben Trumpelmann struck thrice in a sensational first over.
It should have been a straight forward chase but Scotland made it extremely tough for Namibia on a slow pitch.
The Scottish spin trio of Chris Greaves, Mark Watt and Michael Lesk were able to maintain the pressure on Namibia batters but the seasoned David Wiese (16 off 15) and JJ Smith (32 not out off 23) found a way to break the shackles.
Wiese was dismissed when Namibia was close to the finishing line but Smit ensured his team crossed the finishing line in the 20th over with a six over point.
Openers Craig Williams (23) and Michael van Lingen (18) made a sedate start to the run chase and though runs were hard to come by, the required run rate was never an issue.
Scotland bowled their heart out but their batters inability to put enough runs on the board led to their downfall.
Earlier, 23-year-old Trumpelmann got the ball to shape back into the right-hander from the word go and the one that went away with the angle also troubled the Scotland top-order.
George Munsey played on the first ball of the match before Trumpelmann had Calum Macleod caught behind off an angled delivery as the batter anticipated a lethal inswinger.
The next ball was the inswinger and Richard Berrington, who was leading Scotland in place of injured Kyle Coetzer, could do little about it. He reviewed the on-field umpire's decision but DRS found the ball clipping the leg-stump.
Scotland were reeling at 18 for four after all-rounder David Wiese trapped Craig Wallace in front of the stumps with a ball that skidded on to the batter's pads.
With their opponents in dire straits, Namibia could have attacked more after the first six overs. Michael Leask (44 off 27) joined opener Matthew Cross (19 off 33) in the middle and the duo steadied the ship with a 39-run stand.
Another left-arm pacer, Jan Frylinck, found Wallace stumps' from around the wicket to reduce Scotland to 57 for five.
Leask got the much-needed boundaries to take the team closer to the 100-run mark before falling to JJ Smit in the 17th over.
Considering their disastrous start, Scotland did well to get past 100.
Nambia were also brilliant in the last five overs, conceding only 25 runs and taking three wickets.
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India should create strategic buffers to navigate 'most difficult' energy shock: CEA Nageswaran
New Delhi (PTI): Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran on Saturday said India needs to create strategic buffers in the face of the "most difficult" energy shock that the country is facing amid the West Asia crisis.
Nageswaran also said the rising prices of fertiliser and petroleum products globally due to the crisis will make it challenging to achieve the 4.3 per cent fiscal deficit target for the current fiscal, while below normal monsoon and pass-through of higher energy prices could lead to "potential inflation spike".
He also said India has employment challenge emanating from AI, and there is a need to ensure that IT sector becomes more competitive and not lose jobs to AI, and instead create jobs that use AI within the IT sector or in other services.
Speaking at the ICPP Growth Conference organised by the Ashoka University, Nageswaran said the current account deficit (CAD) in the current fiscal could rise to over 2 per cent of GDP, from less than 1 per cent in FY'26.
"The ... priority for us is to create strategic buffers. This energy shock is the most difficult one compared to any other previous energy shock in terms of energy lost as a percentage of total global energy supply, not just oil, including gas.
"And we also need to use this occasion to think about other areas where we are vulnerable in terms of import dependence, nickel, tin, and copper. We need to build strategic buffers if we have to make a shot at manufacturing and becoming indispensable," Nageswaran said.
Since the beginning of the war in West Asia on February 28, crude oil prices soared to a four-year high of USD 126 per barrel on Thursday, from about USD 73 level before the war.
Stating that geopolitics will compel policymakers to be nimble and flexible and shed old model of thinking, Nageswaran said India is better prepared than many other countries to deal with the crisis because of the fiscal leeway that the country has due to lowering of fiscal deficit ratio to 4.4 per cent of GDP in FY'26.
Nageswaran said the West Asia conflict is more of a price shock than supply shock for India as the government is managing the supply side deftly.
"This particular conflict, which is going to be on a low simmer or a high flame situation, whatever it is, it is going to be there with us in some form or the other because the military conflict may be over, but the strategic conflict is well and truly alive. It will be so for some time," Nageswaran said.
He said the conflict has four channels of shock: price and supply shock, trade impact, sticky logistics costs and remittance shock.
India imports 60 per cent of its LPG usage and of that, 90 per cent flows through the now closed Strait of Hormuz.
Nageswaran said the pass-through of high global energy prices would have to be a "balancing act". He said some pass-through is already happening in commercial LPG, and the levy of export duty on diesel and ATF.
The government has cut excise duty on petrol and diesel to shield customers from the impact of the rise in petroleum prices. "We are coming around to arriving at a certain modus vivendi with respect to burden-sharing between the fiscal policy side, inflation, households and the oil marketing companies. So it has to be a balancing act," Nageswaran said.
