After Andries Gous' second half-century in as many ODIs, Sai Mukkamalla and Milind Kumar added fifties of their own in a USA record fourth-wicket partnership to haul down a target of 287, USA's highest ever ODI chase. 

File photo credit: Peter Della Penna

By Peter Della Penna (Twitter/X @PeterDellaPenna)
 
Andries Gous continued a phenomenal start to his ODI career in red, white and blue, top-scoring with 81 off 68 balls to kickstart USA’s reply to Namibia’s total of 286 before Sai Mukkamalla and Milind Kumar combined for a record-setting fourth-wicket partnership as each recorded half-centuries of their own to take USA to their highest ever successful chase in their limited overs history in a seven-wicket win at United Cricket Club on Sunday. Mukkamalla and Kumar teamed for an unbroken stand of 142 runs as Mukkamalla continued his hot streak with an unbeaten 79 not out off 74 balls while Kumar struck 74 not out off 66 balls to ease USA over the line with five overs to spare. Ultimately, the ICC match officials decided to award Gous with Player of the Match honors for a knock that included six fours and five sixes. 
 
USA’s previous high for a winning chase came in March 2023 at the same ground when Sai Mukkamalla’s 120 not out took USA to a five-wicket win over the UAE chasing a target of 280 at the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Qualifiier Playoff. For a team who has struggled to haul down big second innings totals in the past, USA made the target of 287 look like mincemeat on Sunday as they capitalized on poor fielding and the inexperience of a pair of bowling debutants from Namibia to blast 14 sixes in the thin mile-high air of Windhoek. 
 
USA had a relatively modest start to the chase, reaching 46 for 1 in nine overs with the lone setback in that phase coming in the sixth over when Smit Patel prodded away from his body and edged 20-year-old medium pace debutant Dylan Leicher behind for 9. But Leicher was hit out of the attack in the 10^th when Monank Patel playing a flamingo flick over wide long-on for six as part of a 12-run over to end the Powerplay at 58 for 1. 
 
Gous then took charge in the 13^th against Tangeni Lungameni, blasting the left-arm pacer over the leg side for six before heaving him over the midwicket rope again in the 15^th over to bring up a 42-ball half-century, his second in two matches on his debut ODI tour. The partnership ended for 69 when Monank got a half-tracker heading down the leg side from 18-year-old debutant left-arm spinner Peter-Daniel Blignaut but miscued a pull resulting in a top edge that floated gently to Leicher at short fine leg for 31 to make it 105 for 2. Gous should have been out for 60 in Blignaut’s next over but a pull to wide long-on was dropped on a diving effort by JJ Smit. Gous capitalized by timing the next delivery much better with a pull that cleared Smit for six. 
 
Mukkamalla joined Gous and pounced on Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton’s legspin in the following over, rocking back to pull a six over midwicket. Gous pumped a full and wide delivery from Loftie-Eaton over long-off for six in the leggie’s following over, then tried to clear midwicket off a half-tracker when Loftie-Eaton overcorrected next ball but toed the shot to Michael van Lingen at deep midwicket to fall 19 short of a century making it 145 for 3 in the 25^th.
 
Kumar joined Mukkamalla and creamed a short delivery over midwicket for six on his second ball facing Loftie-Eaton as the pair made clear they had no intention of slowing down despite a wicket having just fallen moments earlier. Kumar also showed it wasn’t just the younger bowlers in Namibia’s attack who USA looked to attack as he smashed a pair of short deliveries from Bernard Scholtz for back-to-back sixes over midwicket in the 29^th. Kumar had a close shave in the 34^th over when an attempted dab to third man against Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus’ offspin was fielded off one bounce at slip by Loftie-Eaton lunging to his right, who then flicked the ball back at the stumps while still on the ground after Kumar at set off for a single but the throw went wide of the stumps with Kumar on 29.
 
Mukkamalla brought up his half-century off 55 balls with a single through the off side in the 39^th over and should have been out for 60 in the 41^st off Leicher but van Lingen spilled a difficult diving chance coming forward at deep square leg on a flick off the pads by Mukkamalla. Kumar then brought up his half-century off 52 balls with a single off the next ball to end the 41^st at 245 for 3. 
 
USA needed 42 off 54 balls at this stage, but the pair produced a furious finishing flourish across the next four overs to close out the match. Mukkamalla crunched a front foot pull over long-on for six off Lungameni off the fourth ball of the 42^nd, before smashing a full delivery from Leicher back over the bowler’s head for another six in the following over. After a single, Kumar came on strike and cleared a short ball from Leicher over midwicket for his fourth six of the day. He made it five sixes off Lungameni in the 45^th, pumping a full ball over the rope at wide long-on. Kumar should have been caught on the next ball for 65 by van Lingen at deep midwicket, but a straightforward waist height chance moving to his left was spilled before bouncing over the rope for four. Another boundary driven through extra cover off the next ball leveled the scores before Kumar tapped a single down the ground for the game-clinching run. 
 
The 142-run unbeaten partnership for the fourth wicket eclipsed a previous USA fourth-wicket joint-record of 127. Fahad Babar and Akeem Dodson had produced that number in the 2016 Auty Cup against Canada at Woodley Park in California while a more famous partnership of the same number was conjured up by Aaron Jones and Hayden Walsh Jr. at 2019 WCL Division Two at Wanderers Cricket Ground in Windhoek in a match that USA won by two runs on the way to securing ODI status later in the same tournament following wins over Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong. 
 
Blignaut returned Namibia’s best figures on the day, taking 1 for 28 off four overs. Loftie-Eaton ended with 1 for 32 in three overs. Leicher claimed 1 for 55 in nine overs on debut. JJ Smit was Namibia’s most economical bowler on the day returning 0 for 19 in six overs including a maiden with his left-arm medium pace while Lungameni took the most punishment with figures of 0 for 72 in eight overs including five sixes. Scholtz (0 for 47 in nine) and captain Gerhard Erasmus (0 for 28 in six) contributed 15 overs of spin that rarely threatened USA’s lineup on the day. 
 
Namibia’s lineup began the match with a blistering start after being sent in by USA, reaching 63 for 1 in the Powerplay behind van Lingen’s aggressive approach. JP Kotze fell in the second over for a five-ball duck to Shadley van Schalkwyk, who trapped the left-hander with a full inswinger that beat an attempted leg side flick to make it 4 for 1. While van Schalkwyk continued to be a handful at one end, van Lingen attacked Saurabh Netravalkar and Kumar at the other as USA’s all-time leading wicket-taker had a rare quiet day with the ball. After conceding 18 off three overs, all to van Lingen, Kumar replaced Netravalkar and was subject to harsher punishment as van Lingen struck Kumar’s offspin for two sixes and two fours across his first two overs. Jessy Singh was no better as van Lingen punished him through the leg side for three fours in the 10^th before a hat-trick of boundaries again in the 12^th.
 
It took the intervention of Nosthush Kenjige to finally dislodge van Lingen for 67 off 44 balls in the 13^th. After two dots bowling over the wicket, Kenjige switched to come left-arm around the stumps and tempted van Lingen into a charge but the left-hander was beaten in flight and spooned a simple lofted catch to Kumar 10 yards inside the rope at long-on to make it 84 for 2. 
 
Van Schalkwyk switched ends to return for the 14^th and struck for the second time, bowling Zane Green for 17 with a length delivery angled into the left-hander from around the stumps. Malan Kruger fell lbw for 1 to van Schalkwyk in the 16^th, unable to jam out a yorker to make it 88 for 4. 
 
Yasir Mohammad, who entered the USA XI along with van Schalkwyk in place of Harmeet Singh and Juanoy Drysdale, struck with his fourth ball after coming into the attack in the 25^th over. The leggie got a beautiful flighted googly to draw Erasmus forward playing for the legbreak and struck him on the pads to win an lbw decision for 14 making it 117 for 5. However, Mohammad started to lose consistency in the 29^th over, conceding three boundaries to Smit and Loftie-Eaton. 
 
Momentum then swung sharply to Namibia in the 32^nd over when Kenjige, who had bowled superbly to that stage with figures of 8-1-17-1, conceded 23 runs. Smit struck him for six off the third ball of the over before a no ball was called for a fielding violation on the would-be fifth ball of the over. Loftie-Eaton drove that for six, then did it again charging down the track on the subsequent free hit. Van Schalkwyk finally ended the carnage when he nabbed Loftie-Eaton for 49 in the 40^th over, finding success coming around the wicket once again to angle a fuller delivery into the left-hander that seamed away off the pitch and found the outside edge on a push away from his body to end an 85-run partnership and make it 202 for 6. 
 
Smit struck van Schalkwyk for six in the 42^nd, then brought up a 77-ball half-century with a single off his next delivery though he should have been out later in the over for 50 but Monank’s runout chance from extra cover was wide. However, Monank did hit the stumps in the 45^th to end Smit’s innings for 60 after Leicher made a poor call trying to tap and run for a single into the covers making it 237 for 7. 
 
The Namibia tail continued to wag across the final five overs though as Leicher smashed Netravalkar for six over midwicket during an 11-run 46^th. Scholtz contributed a sharp late flurry as well, hitting Kumar for six in the 47^th before taking van Schalkwyk over the rope again in the 49^th during a 13-run over. 
 
But Namibia only managed five off the final over as USA’s fielding unit completed another pair of runouts. Leicher tried to lap sweep Jessy Singh through fine leg but Shayan Jahangir fielded off one bounce. Leicher was very late responding to Scholtz’ call from the non-striker’s end, giving Jahangir plenty of time to relay to Jessy over the non-striker’s stumps to dismiss Leicher for 32 and end a 45-run partnership. Blignaut entered at the non-striker’s end and was dismissed without facing a ball on the subsequent delivery when he was stranded mid-pitch after Scholtz decided against a second run on a drive to wide long-on as Kumar’s relay to wicketkeeper Smit Patel resulted in a simple runout. Namibia ended the innings with a single from Lungameni and a two from Scholtz, who finished 31 not out off 19 balls, to end on 286 for 9. 
 
Van Schalkwyk finished with his second four-wicket haul in just his fifth ODI, returning 4 for 59 in his 10 overs. Kenjige ended with 1 for 42 in his 10 overs while Mohammad was hit out of the attack after conceding two sixes in the 43^rd and ended with 1 for 40 in six overs. Jessy wound up being USA’s least economical bowler on the day, leaking 0 for 56 off seven overs while Netravalkar was USA’s most economical, returning 0 for 41 off 10. Kumar also finished wicketless with figures of 0 for 46 in seven. 
 
USA has an off day on Monday before returning to action on Tuesday against UAE at United Cricket Ground with a scheduled 9:30 am local time start.