Staging one of the biggest upsets in the history of ICC World T20, Gerhard Erasmus-led Namibia stunned Sri Lanka in the tournament opener of the showpiece event on Sunday. Arriving in the group stage phase of the ICC World T20 2022 with their tails up, Asia Cup 2022 winners Sri Lanka were the overwhelming favourites when the Dasun Shanaka-led side locked horns with minnows Namibia in their Group A match at the Simonds Stadium.
Causing a major upset on the opening fixture of the T20 World Cup, Namibia humbled the Asia Cup winners to kickstart their campaign on a winning note. Jan Frylinck-inspired Namibia crushed Sri Lanka by 55 runs to earn plaudits from the entire cricket fraternity. While Master Blaster
Namibia 🇳🇦 has told the cricketing world today… “Nam” yaad rakhna! 👏🏻
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) ">Sachin Tendulkar shared a special post for Namibia, former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer triggered a hilarious meme fest on Twitter. "Take a bow Namibia #SLvsNAM #T20WorldCup," Jaffer said in his post.
Talking about the match, Frylinck and JJ Smit played match-altering knocks for Namibia to help the Erasmus-led side in posting a challenging total. While Frylinck top-scored (44 off 28 balls) for Namibia, Smit remained unbeaten on 31 off 16 balls to provide the Erasmus-led side with a late flourish. Smit's crucial cameo propelled Namibia to 163-7 in 20 overs. In reply, David Wiese and Frylinck shared four wickets as Sri Lanka folded for 108 in 19 overs. Namibia all-rounder Frylinck was named the Player of the Match.
{{/usCountry}}Talking about the match, Frylinck and JJ Smit played match-altering knocks for Namibia to help the Erasmus-led side in posting a challenging total. While Frylinck top-scored (44 off 28 balls) for Namibia, Smit remained unbeaten on 31 off 16 balls to provide the Erasmus-led side with a late flourish. Smit's crucial cameo propelled Namibia to 163-7 in 20 overs. In reply, David Wiese and Frylinck shared four wickets as Sri Lanka folded for 108 in 19 overs. Namibia all-rounder Frylinck was named the Player of the Match.
{{/usCountry}}"Incredible journey, last year was a special experience for us. We've started a great win, but lot of work to do throughout this tournament still. It's been a historic day for us. The opening day has been quite special but we want to kick on from here and qualify for the Super 12 stage," Namibia skipper Erasmus said after the match.