T20 World Cup Qualifier: Namibia vs Sri Lanka

Namibia The Underdogs

Namibia began with a bang by defeating a Test-playing side (Sri Lanka) after displaying promise in the UAE the previous year. This is not surprising as the ICC events are known for results like this.

The tales of the underdogs pushing the established players over their breaking point. Today, just one thing is certain. Sri Lanka were taught how to bowl on this surface by Namibia.

Namibia bowled broader and allowed the ball to do its part. Whereas Sri Lanka became enthused by the words “Australia” and “bounce” and bowled much shorter than the ground called for. The batsmen for Sri Lanka had no responses.

Played without fear

Namibia scored 163 for 7 in 20 overs after being given the opportunity to bat first. Namibia was in serious trouble when they reached 93 for 6 in 14.2 overs. A 70-run partnership for the seventh wicket established in just 34 balls by Jan Frylinck (44 off 28 balls) and JJ Smit (31 not out off 16 balls). The alliance ultimately prevailed throughout the game.

Sri Lanka’s Bowling

For Sri Lanka, Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva 1/27, Dushmantha Chameera (1/39), Chamika Karunaratne 1/36, Pramod Madushan Liyanagamage 2/37, and Maheesh Theekshana 1/23 all contributed to the team’s ability to restrict the opposition to 163/7 in 20 overs.

Sri Lanka’s Reply

After losing three wickets during the powerplay, Sri Lanka never regained the upper hand. In 3.3 overs, Pathum Nissanka was out for 9 runs, Kusal Mendis for 6 runs, and Danushka Gunathilaka for 0 runs.

Dasun Shanaka, the captain of Sri Lanka, scored 27 off 23 balls, and Bhanuka Rajapaksa scored 20 off 21. Both of them tried to carry the Sri Lankan innings forward but failed to do so. Namibia bowled out Sri Lanka for 108 runs in 19 overs as Namibian bowlers continued to chip away at the wickets.

Namibia’s Bowling figures

Ben Shikongo took 2/22 for Namibia. Followed by Bernard Scholtz 2/18, David Wiese 2/16, JJ Smit 1/16, and Jan Frylinck 2/26.

Player of the match

Jan Frylinck named the game’s top performer after scoring an incredible 44 runs off just 28 balls, including four fours, and taking two wickets for 26 runs in just four overs.

Sri Lanka in Shock

After a shaky start to their innings, Namibia’s demolition of Sri Lanka was nothing short of a fairy tale. After all, Sri Lanka overcame nations like Pakistan and India to win the Asia Cup last month, so they came into the match as the favorites.

They lost to Namibia on Sunday by a score of 55 runs, which left them completely speechless. The team managed by Gerhard Erasmus won the T20 World Cup 2022 opening match and is currently in first place in group A of qualifiers in the points table.

What’s Next?

On Tuesday, October 18th, Namibia will take on the Netherlands in Geelong. While, Sri Lanka will play UAE on Tuesday, October 18 in Geelong.