Namibia bowl their way to a winning start in T20 World Cup

 Namibia bowl their way to a winning start in T20 World Cup

Namibia made a dazzling beginning to the T20 World Cup as they beat Sri Lanka by an incredible 55-run nargin to make their case super 12 qualification. The Asia Cup champions did well for about the initial 15 overs of the game after which Namibia didn't put a foot wrong They smashed it in the death overs before the bowling unit dismantled Sri Lanka on a two-paced surface in Geelong.

Sri Lanka pacers make joyful early

Dasun Shanaka got going the procedures with his mystery spin ace Maheesh Theekshana however it was his quicks that gave him an early upperhand On the World Cup opener. Dushmantha Chameera, who missed Sri Lanka's successful Asia Cup crusade because of a calf injury, strolled once more into the XI and struck the second ball to excuse Namibia opener Michael van Lingen. Promod Madushan, playing instead of the injured Dilshan Madhushanka, had the other opener - Divan la Cock - in the third over. Namibia were in genuine trouble by the fifth over when Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton was booted out after a windy beginning by Chamika Karunaratne in the fifth over.

The center battle

However Gerhard Erasmus and Stephan Baard put a cover on the fall of wickets, they couldn't exactly go at pace as they oversaw only 41 out of seven overs together. When Hasaranga foxed Erasmus, Namibia slid somewhat further as Baard and Wiese then fell in about three conveyances to tumble to 93 for 6 in the fifteenth over.

The Frylinck-Smit lift

Namibia got a lift from 95 for 6 out of 15 overs as Frylinck and Smit hit 68 off the last five overs. Sri Lanka's quicks didn't complete as well as they started as the passing overs brought: 11, 10, 16, 18 and 13 runs individually. The Namibian turnaround  started when Frylinck punished a short ball from Dushmantha Chameera in the sixteenth over. Smit got into the demonstration in the following over with a  slog sweep off Hasaranga, after which they joined to rebuff the bowlers. Frylinck wrapped up with a 28-ball 44, that included four fours, and Smit got an unbeaten 31 off 16, with two fours and two sixes.

Sri Lanka's shaky start and a double-wicket maiden

Namibia conveyed the energy from the rear of their batting innings into their bowling stage as they caused serious problems for Sri Lanka's top-order. Wiese brought all his T20 experience to the front in only the second over when he got Kusal Mendis to top-edge a delivery that was gotten securely by 'keeper Zane Green.

22 year-old medium pacer Ben Shikongo hushed the Sri Lankan supporters in the croed with two wickets off successive deliveries  in a double-wicket maiden that included the dismissals of Pathum Nissanka and Danushka Gunathilaka.

Like Namibia, Sri Lanka lost three in the PowerPlay and like Namibia, all they required was an partnership to direct the team in the clear. Sadly for Sri Lanka, that simply never came. Just after the PowerPlay, Dhananjaya de Silva tracked down Shikongo at deep square leg with a success off Frylinck to diminish Sri Lanka to 40 for 4.

Dasun Shanaka and Bhanuka Rajapaksa's bombed recovery mission

The senior pair of batters attempted to drag the team out of the early quagmire and looked like they might just succeed. But after a drinks break, Rajapaksa went after left-arm spinner Bernard Sholtz and paid the price despite matching-up favourably against him. He went down the track but only hit as far as long on to fall for a 21-ball 20.

The breakdown

There was no approaching back from Rajapaksa's dismissal as Sri Lanka went from 74 for 5 in eleventh over to 92 for 9 in the sixteenth, while Namibia did amazingly well to clutch all their high catches. Maheesh Theekshana agreed with his stance past the 100-run mark yet Wiese finished the ended in the nineteenth over at 108.

Brief Scores: Namibia 163/7 (Jan Frylinck 44, JJ Smit 31; Pramod Madushan 2-37) beat Sri Lanka 108 in 19 overs (Dasun Shanaka 29, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 20; David Wiese 2-16, Bernard Scholtz 2-18, Ben Shikongo 2-22, Jan Frylinck 2-26) by 55 runs

What next?

Sri Lanka have no chance to recuperate as they go facing UAE on Tuesday (October 18), while Namibia face Netherlands around the same time.

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