Underdog Namibia defeated strong Sri Lanka by 55 runs in the opening match of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup held at GMHBA Stadium in Victoria province of Australia.
Winning the toss of this first match of Group A , Sri Lanka opted to bowl first. Namibia lost their first two wickets inside 16 runs. Despite this early damage, they managed to score 163 for seven, thanked to the amazing batting show in seventh wicket.
After losing 6th wicket for 93, Jan Frylinck and Johannes Smit started counter attack on Sri Lankan bowlers and added 70 runs to take the score to 163.
Jan Frylinck smashed 44 off 28 balls and Johannes Smit scored 31 off 16 deliveries.
For Sri Lanka, Pramod Madushan bagged two wickets and other four bowlers took a wicket each.
In reply, Sri Lanka lost four wickets before posting 50 on the board. Three of Sri Lanka's top five batters failed to reach a double-digit total. Captain Dasun Shanka scored 29 off 23 and Bhanuka Rajapaksha scored 20 of 21 and they both got 34 runs in 5th wicket stand.
However, after that Sri Lanka just collapsed very quickly and all out for 108.
Jan Frylinck was judged Player of the Match as he also grabbed 2 wickets for 26 runs.
A total of 16 teams are taking part in the T20 World Cup. Eight teams are participating in the first round. Four of them will qualify for the Super 12s.
Bd-pratidin English/Lutful Hoque
