First, it was Petrus Burger whose spell of 5/24 in 10 overs enabled Namibia to restrict Kenya to only 176 and then Lohan Louwrens took the center-stage with a blistering century, scoring 114 off only 76 deliveries to guide them to their first victory in the ongoing ICC U-19 World Cup in the 13th place play-off semi-final.
Kenya opener Aman Gandhi provided a good start as he scored 52 off 80 deliveries and along with Aveet Desai (32 off 59), put on a 73 runs partnership for the 2nd wicket. But after Aveet’s departure, all mayhem broke loose as Burger started this wicket-taking spree that saw him take the next 5 wickets to fall for Kenya as they slumped to 132/7 in the 37th over. Ankit Hirani (20 off 20) added few valuable runs down the order as Kenya got bowled in the 47th over to give a target of 177 for Namibia.
Ben Shikongo also had a good day with the ball as he snapped up 3/29 in 8.5 overs. Jan-Ijak de Viliers and Shaun Fouche also contributed with the ball claiming a wicket apiece.
Jurgen Linde (30 off 36) provided a good start along with Louwrens as the pair put up 56 runs for the opening wicket. After Linde’s dismissal in the 11th over, Louwrens took the attack to the Kenyan bowlers in the company of Fouche, who remained unbeaten on 28 runs off 49 deliveries till the end of the innings.
Namibia will play against Ireland in the 13th/14th play-off for the finishing positions in the ICC U19 World Cup.
