Milind Kumar flattens Namibia with all-round heroics

Milind Kumar's all-round effort, in the form of a blazing half-century at the death as well as a four-wicket haul, helped set up an emphatic 114-run win over Namibia in the first ODI of the tri-series in Oman. The 33-year-old all-rounder extended his purple patch in the format with a fourth 50-plus score in his 10-innings-long ODI career for USA. Batting mainstays Andries Gous and Monank Patel starred with twin half-centuries, featuring in a century second-wicket stand that laid the foundation for a daunting 294-run chase in 43 overs.

Electing to field first on what turned out to be a belter of a wicket, Andries Gous provided a glimpse of what lay ahead for Namibia by flying off the blocks from the get-go. Fresh off a successful ILT20 stint, Gous greeted Namibia's spearhead Ruben Trumpelmann with a couple of boundaries in the first over. He then pounced on Trumpelmann again in his second over, smoking back-to-back sixes on both sides of the wicket. JJ Smit provided some respite from the onslaught by pegging back Smit Patel's off stump in the fourth over.

However, the breakthrough did little to arrest USA's momentum, as Ben Shikongo welcomed captain Monank Patel with a couple of freebies on his pads, which were glanced away to the fine-leg fence. Gous launched into Shikongo with a fearsome pull that traveled the distance to bring up USA's 50 in the ninth over. Shikongo bore the brunt of some sublime strokeplay from Monank and Gous, conceding 40 runs in his first four overs.

Gous hurried to his third ODI half-century upon the introduction of Shaun Fouche, with a crisp boundary through covers followed by a nudge for a couple. Monank followed in Gous' footsteps and wasted little time in his 40s. After a couple of quiet overs from Bernard Scholtz, Monank lofted him through extra cover before thrashing Fouche down the ground to bring up his 16th ODI half-century. A couple of deliveries later, Monank crossed the 2000-run mark in ODI cricket, becoming the first American to achieve that feat in the format.

USA cruised to 132 for 1 in the 23rd over before Jan Nicole Loftie-Eaton rocked their ship by dismissing Monank, who holed out to deep midwicket, ending a menacing stand. Sai Teja Mukkamalla lived dangerously early on but acclimatized himself to lead a brief stand with Gous. Smit returned to break the 38-run stand in the 30th over, cutting short Gous' hunt for his maiden ODI hundred. A couple of overs later, Smit struck again, foiling Mukkamalla's attempt to clear mid-off as USA was thwarted again. Scholtz trapped Aaron Jones in front to further dent the innings, reducing them to 182 for 5.

Sanjay Krishnamurthy and Milind resurrected the innings with a counterpunching 60-run stand in the next seven overs, putting USA back in the driver's seat. Milind threw caution to the wind, thrashing Smit down the ground. He peppered the midwicket fence with a boundary and a maximum against Loftie-Eaton in the 37th over before further unleashing himself with 17 runs off Trumpelmann in the following over. Harmeet Singh and Shadley van Schalkwyk added to the fireworks as USA plundered 51 runs off the final four overs.

USA carried their turbocharged momentum into the field. Chasing an asking rate of 6.9 RPO from ball one, Namibia's openers had little time to get their eye in. JP Kotze fell prey to the pressure, attempting to break the shackles after a couple of quiet overs. His ugly hoick off Saurabh Netravalkar landed safely in the hands of Nosthush Kenjige at point. Zane Green showed promise with some handsome cover drives off Shadley, sparking some life in the powerplay.

However, that very cover drive proved to be his undoing as he punched one straight to captain Monank at widish mid-off, who stood vindicated in his decision to introduce Milind's off-spin in the eighth over. Kenjige followed suit, snaring Jan Frylinck in his first over with a delivery that could have been deposited anywhere but instead found Shadley's throat at long leg. Despite Gerhard Erasmus' struggles at the other end, Malan Kruger kept the pot boiling for Namibia by punishing some loose deliveries from Harmeet Singh and Kenjige.

Harmeet ended Erasmus' torrid innings of 18 off 30 by inducing a mistimed shot to long-on. It was effectively curtains for Namibia after the fall of their most accomplished batter, as they now required 221 runs in 26 overs with just five wickets in hand. Milind further broke Namibia's resistance, trapping Smit, Loftie-Eaton, and Kruger in quick succession to bring a swift end to the proceedings.