Oman vs. Namibia: Both to put up a strong fight as competition toughens, will there be a clear winner?

Oman will be up against Namibia in the 61st match of the Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2. The ODI match will be played at ICC Academy, Dubai, on 6th March on Saturday.

The Men’s Cricket World Cup League 2 is a series of crucial matches. After all, it will form the basis for deciding what teams will qualify for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup of 2023! Hence, the qualifying matches among all the teams are expected to be very competitive.

Currently, Oman is leading the scoreboard with 30 points, after playing 23 games, out of which it has won 14. Holistically, it has won 60 percent of its matches. Bilal Khan continues to cause havoc for the other teams. With 39 wickets to his name, he is the leading wicket-taker in this tournament.

After the UAE match on Friday, it is expected that Oman will be well-prepared and in full form to take the Eagles' heads on.

• Aqib Ilyas
• Zeeshan Maqsood (Captain)
• Naseem Khushi (Wicket)
• Jatinder Singh
• Bilal Khan

So far, Namibia has played nine matches and won five of them, thereby accumulating 10 points. In other words, the Eagles have won 55 percent of the games.

The head coach of the team, Pierre De Bruyn, released a statement emphasizing the significance of the tournament.

"This coming tournament is important for Namibia to work towards retaining ODI status. The conditions at the ICC Academy Oval and Sharjah cricket ground are tricky, but we had the opportunity to play at these venues at the recently held World Cup," he said

• Gerhard Erasmus (Captain)
• JJ Smit
• Jan Frylinck
• Karl Birkenstock
• Zane Green (Wicket Keeper)

The last five matches that the two teams have played against one another seem to show that one particular team has the upper hand. Here is a run-down for you to make a judgment on your own:

• On 27th November 2021, Oman won the match by mere nine runs.
• On 26th March 2021, Namibia won by 40 runs.
• The January 2020 match was abandoned.
• In January 2020, Namibia won by 52 runs.
• In April 2019, Namibia won by a staggering 145 runs.

The past doesn’t always predict the future. While Namibia seems to have been the victor in all the recent matches against Oman, this doesn’t mean that the case will be the same in Saturday’s match as well.

This is because Oman has put up a strong fight this season. Some of the top-performing players of this tournament have been from the team. Therefore, to say that they are destined to win this match won’t be wrong.