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ICC T20 WC: Namibia stun Sri Lanka in opening game

Sunday 16 October 2022

Namibia celebrate

©ICC

Namibia inflicted a major upset in the opening game of ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022 when they beat Sri Lanka by 55 runs at Geelong on Sunday moring.

Asked to bat first, Namibia posted 163 for seven in their 20 overs and in response bowled out Sri Lanka for a mere 108 in 19 overs.

Earlier, Namibia lost their top-order cheaply as they were struggling at 35 for three. Then there was a 41 run stand for the fourth wicket between captain Gerhard Erasmus and Stephan Baard. Thereafter, there was a collapse again. Then a 70 run stand for the seventh wicket revived Namibia. This stand was between Jan Frylinck (44) and JJ Smit (31 n.o.). Namibia ended on 163 for seven in their 20 overs. For Sri Lanka, Pramod Madushan (2-37) was the best bowler.

In their response, Sri Lanka lost wickets at regular intervals. They were reduced to 40 for four and then they lost wickets regularly. There was a brief resistance when captain Dasun Shanaka (29) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa added 34 runs for the fifth wicket. But apart from that there was nothing much of note from the other Sri Lankan batters. Sri Lanka was bowled lout for 108 in 19 overs. For Namibia David Wiese (2-16), Bernard Scholtz (2-18), Ben Shikongo (2-22) and Jan Frylinck (2-26) were the best bowlers.

Match Summary
Namibia: 163-7 (20)
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Michael van Lingen-1.2 ov), 2-16 (Divan la Cock-2.6 ov), 3-35 (Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton-4.5 ov), 4-76 (Gerhard Erasmus-11.5 ov), 5-91 (Stephan Baard-13.6 ov), 6-93 (David Wiese-14.2 ov), 7-163 (Jan Frylinck-19.6 ov)

Sri Lanka: 108 (19)
Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Kusal Mendis-1.4 ov), 2-21 (Pathum Nissanka-3.2 ov), 3-21 (Danushka Gunathilaka-3.3 ov), 4-40 (Dhananjaya de Silva-6.3 ov), 5-74 (Bhanuka Rajapaksa, 10.3 ov), 6-80 (Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva-12.3 ov), 7-88 (Dasun Shanaka-13.6 ov), 8-88 (Pramod Madushan Liyanagamage-14.2 ov), 9-92 (Chamika Karunaratne-15.2 ov), 10-108 (Dushmantha Chameera-18.6 ov)

Scorecard

Playing XI
Sri Lanka: P Nissanka, K Mendis (wicket-keeper), D de Silva, D Gunathilaka, B Rajapaksa, D Shanaka (captain), W Hasaranga, C Karunaratne, D Chameera, P Madushan, M Theekshana

Namibia: S Baard, D Wiese, G Erasmus (captain), Loftie-Eaton, JJ Smit, J Frylinck, Z Green (wicket-keeper), D la Cock, M van Lingen, B Scholtz, B Shikongo

Match Details
Toss: Sri Lanka elected to field
Venue: GMHBA Stadium, South Geelong, Victoria
Start time: 0330 hrs GMT
Match officials: Joel Wilson, Rod Tucker (On-field Umpires); Paul Reiffel (TV Umpire); Marais Erasmus (Reserve Umpire); Andy Pycroft (Match-referee)

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