Updated October 16th, 2022 at 15:17 IST
'No team is big or small': Twitter explodes after Namibia beat Sri Lanka in T20 WC opener
Namibia already has one foot into the Super 12 stage and will need a victory against the Netherlands to secure a place in the next round.
Advertisement
Namibia produced one of the biggest upsets of the T20 World Cup 2022 beating Sri Lanka by 55 runs in the T20 World Cup opener. Win the upset win, Namibia already has one foot in the Super 12 stage and will need a victory against the Netherlands to secure a place in the next round of the tournament. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, needs to beat UAE in their next game to keep themselves in contention.
World reacts to Namibia's shock win over SriLanka in T20 World Cup qualifier
The shocking victory over Sri Lanka was arguably the greatest day in the history of Namibian cricket. Jan Frylinck produced a complete all-around performance helping the Associate nation bring down the 'Kings of Asia' in the first match of the tournament. During the last year's T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka has beaten Namibia by 55 runs and after a year the tables seemed to have turned on the Asian Champions. Here's what the fans had to say on Namibia's victory over Sri Lanka.
What a stunning performance from Namibia! They showed that belief and courage can win you any match. 2022 is turning out to be quite an Associate Nations winning against top teams' year. @CricketNamibia#SLvNAM#ICCT20WorldCup2022
— Ashwin Daniel (@_Ashwin_Daniel) October 16, 2022
Namibia proved that the 16 teams @T20WorldCup should have been divided into 4 groups and each groups top 2 teams should have played quarter final. This top 8 straight to the main round format is an insult and deprive to the growing cricketing nations and fans. @ICC
— Sheikh Minhaj Hossain (@minhaj272c) October 16, 2022
#Namibia winning over #SriLanka ... That's the game and the fact no team is big or small 🥺and @lahoreqalandars making waves with their players#Davidwise 🫀
— Aقsa- نooR (@AsaooR1) October 16, 2022
Congratulations 🎉
Always loved to see Associates nations doing well infront of established top cricketing nations.
— Shahbaz Ali 🇮🇳 (@SportAndPol786) October 16, 2022
Hope Namibia will improve more in future. #SLvsNAM
Sri Lanka vs Namibia: As it happened
Namibia made a shaky start to their campaign losing three wickets inside the Powerplay to be reduced to 43/3. However, the Namibia middle order fought back to pull things back their way. Stephan Baard and skipper Gerhard Erasmus stitched together a vital partnership in the middle. Baard was dismissed for 26 runs, while Erasmus was sent back to the pavilion by Wanindu Hasaranga. In the end some big hitting from Jan Frylinck (44) and JJ Smit (31*) helped Namibia overcome a shaky start to register 163/7 on board. Wanindu Hasaranga bowled well to finish with figures of 1/27. Pramod Madhushan was the pick of the bowler with 2 wickets for 37 runs.
Sri Lanka never looked to be in the run chase as they lost wickets at regular intervals. The Asian champions lost four wickets inside powerplay thanks to some good bowling efforts from Namibia bowlers. Skipper Dasun Shanaka (29) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (20) provided some hope as the duo put up 34 runs for the fifth wicket, however, once the partnership was broken the last six wickets fell for just 34 runs. For Namibia Bernard Scholtz, David Wiese, Ben Shikongo and Player of the Match Frylinck chipped in with two wickets.
Advertisement
Published October 16th, 2022 at 15:17 IST
Your Voice. Now Direct.
Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.