Namibia defeats Sri Lanka by 55 runs in the tournament opener.
Namibia defeated Sri Lanka by 55 runs thanks to a 70-run seventh-wicket stand between Jan Frylinck and JJ Smit.
Namibia defeated Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka, by 55 runs in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 on Sunday in Geelong.
They scored 163 for 7 in 20 overs after being put in to bat first. Namibia was in big trouble after scoring 93 runs in 14.2 overs. Jan Frylinck (44 off 28b; 44) also JJ Smit (31 not out off 16b; 24, 26) put on a 70-run seventh-wicket stand in just 34 balls. The collaboration proved to be a match-winning one.
Pramod Madushan Liyanagamage (2/37), Maheesh Theekshana (1/23), Dushmantha Chameera (1/39), Chamika Karunaratne (1/36), also Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva (1/27) each took two wickets for Sri Lanka.
After losing three wickets inside the powerplay, Sri Lanka never recovered. In 3.3 overs, Pathum Nissanka (9), Kusal Mendis (6), also Danushka Gunathilaka (0) were all out.
The notable contributors were Bhanuka Rajapaksa (20 off 21b; 24) also Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka (27 off 23b; 24, 16). Namibia bowlers continued to take wickets as Sri Lanka were bowled out for 108 runs in 19 overs.
Ben Shikongo (2/22), Bernard Scholtz (2/18), David Wiese (2/16), JJ Smit (1/16), also Jan Frylinck (2/26) took the most wickets for Namibia.
Jan Frylinck, an all-rounder, was named man-of-the-match.
“I’m a little speechless right now; what we’ve just accomplished exceeds our expectations,” Frylinck said.
“Right now, I’m just very excited.”
