| ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, GMHBA Stadium, Geelong |
| Namibia 163-7 (20 overs): Frylinck 44 (28), Smith 31* (16); Madushan 2-37 |
| Sri Lanka 108 (19 wins): Shanaka 29 (23); Scholtz 2-18, Shikongo 2-22, Frylinck 2-26 |
| Namibia won by 55 points |
| Scorecard; Table |
Namibia, ranked 14th in the world, surprised Asian Cup champions Sri Lanka by winning by 55 points as the Men’s T20 World Cup got off to a spectacular start.
After losing the draw, Namibia fell to 35-3 and 93-6 before Jan Frylinck (44 from 28 balls) and JJ Smit (31 from 16) hit 70 from the last 37 balls to carry them at 163 above par. -seven.
In response, Sri Lanka, who are eighth in the world, were knocked out for 108.
Namibia’s only other Test nation win was against Ireland in 2021.
The Netherlands take on the United Arab Emirates in Group A from 09:00 BST.
Scotland and Ireland’s campaigns begin on Monday, facing the West Indies and Zimbabwe respectively in Group B.
The top two teams from each group qualify for the Super 12s, which begin on October 22. The winner of Group A and the runners-up of Group B will face England.
Sri Lanka flatters to deceive but Namibia impresses
Sri Lanka, who are led by former England head coach Chris Silverwood, entered the tournament in Australia as some people bet away for the title due to their impressive European Cup win. Asia just five weeks ago.
However, the conditions are very different from those found in the United Arab Emirates, and after a good start to the ball, cracks started to appear.
Their lineup was fairly neat, but their bowling, both in line and in length, became erratic as the Namibian innings progressed and they were put under pressure by Frylinck and Smit, who both understood the need to hit straighter much better than their teammates.
They hit six fours and two sixes between them, but before that it had been a lukewarm display at Namibia’s batting, with little power or trickery to find the boundary.
The associated nation were superb with the ball from the start, and their grip and pitch were flawless throughout the game.
Nicol Loftie-Eaton took a brilliant hold in the middle of the wicket to brush Wanindu Hasaranga aside, before Michael van Lingen was quick to knock out Pramod Madushan.
Left arm spinner Bernard Scholtz claimed 2-18, pace setter Ben Shikongo – who had a low-weight review for a disallowed hat trick – took 2-22 and Frylinck 2-26.
Man of the match Frylinck said he was “speechless” at the result and they had “achieved beyond what we thought we could”, while Smit said “for the little boys and girls at home, it will mean the world”.
Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka said: “The execution wasn’t there when it came to bowling – that worried us. Once we lost three wickets on the power play the game was lost. .”
The result means Sri Lanka will realistically need to win their two remaining games – potentially by wide margins due to the effect that result will have on their net run rate – to have a chance of qualifying for the Super 12s. .
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