Courtesy: Dawn News
Chakravarthy spearheads India’s bowling with three wickets, while Axar and Pandya claim two each
- Namibia collapse from 67/1 to 116 all out.
- Hardik Pandya declared Player of the Match.
- India to face arch-rivals Pakistan on Feb 15.
Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel delivered fiery spells to steer India to a convincing 93-run victory over Namibia in the 18th group-stage match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi, on Thursday.
Half-centuries from Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya, followed by a collective bowling effort, led defending champions India to a resounding victory today.
Set to chase a daunting 210-run target, Namibia could muster 116 runs before getting bowled out in 18.2 overs despite a spirited start.
The Eagles were 67/1 after seven overs, but Louren Steenkamp’s dismissal on the first delivery of the successive overs derailed their run chase as it triggered a match-defining collapse, which saw them lose their remaining eight wickets for 49 runs.
Steenkamp remained the top-scorer with a 20-ball 29, followed by his opening partner Jan Frylinck, who made 20 off 15 deliveries.
Besides them, only top-order batter Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (13), captain Gerhard Erasmus (18), and wicketkeeper batter Zane Green (11) could amass double figures against a disciplined Indian bowling attack.
Chakravarthy spearheaded India’s bowling charge with three wickets, followed by Axar Patel and Hardik Pandya with two each, while Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Dube chipped in with one apiece.
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus’s decision to field first backfired as the home side piled up 209/9 in their 20 overs.
The hosts got off to a contrasting start to their innings as right-handed opener Sanju Samson fell victim to Ben Shikongo after scoring an eight-ball 22, which featured three sixes and a four.
Following the early stutter, Kishan was joined by Tilak Varma, and the duo put India into a commanding position by adding 79 runs for the second wicket off just 31 deliveries.
The platform-setting partnership concluded with Kishan’s dismissal on the first delivery of the eighth over, who walked back after top-scoring with a 24-ball 61, studded with six fours and five sixes.
His dismissal followed two further setbacks for the home side as their captain Suryakumar Yadav (12) and Varma (25) perished in quick succession.
With the scoreboard reading 124/4 in 11.5 overs, Pandya and Shivam Dube launched an astounding recovery as the duo knitted a quickfire 81-run partnership for the fifth wicket before both perished on successive deliveries in the penultimate over.
Pandya made a 28-ball 52, laced with four fours and as many sixes, while Dube chipped in with 23 off 16 deliveries.
Their back-to-back dismissals sparked a collapse as India lost three more wickets at the backend but managed to post a 200-plus total.
Skipper Erasmus was the standout bowler for Namibia, taking four wickets for just 20 runs in his four overs, while JJ Smit, Bernard Scholtz and Shikongo could make one scalp apiece.