Sachin, cricket world stunned as Namibia beat Asia Cup champs Sri Lanka in T20 WC opener

Namibia on Sunday locked horns with Sri Lanka in their opening match of Round 1 of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Australia. Namibia beat Sri Lanka by a massive margin of 55 runs to register their maiden victory in the qualifier round of the event. Jan Frylinck played a crucial role with both the bat and the ball to help Namibia win the game. After the unexpected win, the cricketing world took to social media to laud Namibia for its stellar performance. 

Among those who reacted to Namibia's victory are former India cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Wasim Jaffer. Former Protea all-rounder Albie Morkel also praised the minnows for pulling off the upset against the current Asia Cup champions. "Namibia has told the cricketing world today… “Nam” yaad rakhna! (Remember the name!)" Sachin wrote in his tweet. Jaffer was at his usual best as he shared to meme to mark Namibia's victory. 

Sri Lanka vs Namibia

At Victoria's GMHBA Stadium, Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka opted to field first after winning the toss for the game. Batting first, Namibia scored 163/7 in 20 overs thanks to Jan Frylinck's outstanding batting performance. The run out effected by Danushka Gunathilaka and Kusal Mendis ended the Namibian batter's innings after he had scored 44 runs off 28 deliveries.

The team's total also received a boost from Stephen Baard (26), Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (20), and Gerhard Erasmus (20). Toward the conclusion of their innings, JJ Smit scored 31 runs off just 16 balls, pushing Namibia's total above 160. Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Chamika Karunaratne, and Wanindu Hasaranga each took one wicket, while Pramod Liyanagamage picked up two for Sri Lanka.

Namibia then bowled Sri Lanka out for just 108 runs in 19 overs. Ben Shikongo, Jan Frylinck, David Wiese, Bernard Scholtz, and Ben Shikongo each took two wickets, and JJ Smit took one wicket to his name. Because of his all-round performance in the game, Frylinck was named player of the match. The win has given Namibia a chance to top their group in the qualifying stage and move to the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup. 

(Image: Twitter/ICC)