New Zealand is now second in Group 2, with six points and three wins from four.
New Zealanders celebrate taking a wicket in Namibia
ICC Men's T20 World Cup Sharjah New Zealand 163-4 (20 runs): Phillips 39*(21), Neesham35* (23) Namibia 111-7 (20 runs): Van Lingen25 (25); Southee 2--15, Boult 2--20 New Zealand won by 52 run Scorecard Tables
New Zealand increased their chances of reaching the Men's T20 World Cup semifinals by eliminating Namibia with a 52-run victory in Sharjah.
The Black Caps are currently second in Group 2, and will win against Afghanistan in their final group match on Sunday.
After a slow start, the Kiwis achieved an impressive total of 163-4 after a fifth-wicket unbeaten stand of 76 runs from 36 balls between Glenn Phillips & Jimmy Neesham.
Namibia had a good start before they lost three wickets for only eight runs. However, when David Wiese, their key man, fell in the 15th Over, Namibia collapsed to 111-7 after 20 overs.
New Zealand is now two points ahead of Afghanistan, but their net run rate, which determines who advances if multiple teams finish the same on the same points, remains lower.
This means that New Zealand must defeat Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi.
India is still in contention but must win a major victory over Scotland in Dubai on Friday. Afghanistan should beat New Zealand on Friday and Namibia heavily on Monday.
Clinical Kiwis successfully complete their task
New Zealand entered the game knowing that their fate was in their hands and knew two wins would lead them to join Pakistan in the semis.
They were at risk of posting a subpar total after losing captain Kane Williamson in quick succession and Devon Conway at 87-4.
Phillips made 39 not out of 21 balls and Neesham hit an unbeaten 35.5 off 23 balls. They held their nerve and took two overs before they counter-attacked.
They scored 67 runs in the four final overs, five sixes and a run for three, to give Namibia an unprecedented total against top-tier nations in T20 internationals.
Namibia's openers Stephan Baard, Michael van Lingen and Michael van Lingen put up a promising opening display of 47. However, New Zealand's versatile bowling team proved too strong.
Tim Southee and Trent Boult were fast bowlers and took 2-15 and 20 respectively. Spinners Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Ise Plumb lbw also limited the scoring.
While they couldn't overcome Afghanistan's superior net run rate, the Black Caps were able to give Namibia 26 runs in the final six overs.
How is the net run-rate calculated
The average run rate is the number of runs scored by a team per over in an innings. So, for example, 160 runs off 20 overs equals 8 runs per over.
The net run-rate is calculated when the opposition's run rate is subtracted from the other team’s run-rate.
Therefore, the winning side will have a positive net rate and losers will have a negative net rate.
Net run-rate in a tournament is calculated by subtracting the average runs/over scored by each team in each match and taking the average runs/over scored against them in each match.
If a team loses within their allotted time, the run rate is calculated by dividing the runs by their maximum overs - in this case, 20 overs.
"We did what was necessary" - they said.
Jimmy Neesham, New Zealand's all-rounder: "We did the right thing." Everyone talks about the consequences of these tournaments, but it's not about what you do well.
"The way that we did it on a difficult surface was really satisfying."
Gerhard Erasmus, Namibia captain: "The death overs did not go our way again. We need to return to the beginning to plan how we can get them on their way.
We have one more match against India. They are a formidable side, but we have the potential to beat them."
Kane Williamson, New Zealand captain: "We all know exactly what to expect when it comes to us coming here. It's a real scrap so we had to try to put something together in between.
"Afghanistan is a really, really powerful side. They have done so well at this tournament, and we look forward to playing them."
