T20 World Cup 2022: Namibia beat Sri Lanka by 55 runs

The T20 World Cup kicked off today (October 16) with the first match of the first round of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 between Sri Lanka and Namibia at the Kardinia Park in Geelong, Victoria, Australia.

Minnows Namibia stunned Asia Cup champions, Sri Lanka, by 55 runs in the opening match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022.

After being put into bat first, Namibia collected a fighting score of 163 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in allotted 20 overs and gave a target of 164 runs to Sri Lanka. With 93 for 6 in 14.2 overs, Namibia were in deep trouble.

Jan Frylinck (44 off 28b; 4×4) and JJ Smit (31 not out off 16b; 2×4, 2×6) put on 70-run stand for the seventh wickets in just 34 balls.

For Sri Lanka, Pramod Madushan Liyanagamage (2/37), Maheesh Theekshana (1/23), Dushmantha Chameera (1/39), Chamika Karunaratne (1/36), and Wanindu Hasaranga de Silva (1/27) shared the spoils.

In reply, Sri Lanka were never in control after losing three wickets inside the powerplay. Pathum Nissanka (9), Kusal Mendis (6) and Danushka Gunathilaka (0) were out in 3.3 overs.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa (20 off 21b; 2×4) and Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka (27 off 23b; 2×4, 1×6) were the notable contributors. Sri Lanka was bundled out for 108 runs in 19 overs.

For Namibia, Ben Shikongo (2/22), Bernard Scholtz (2/18), David Wiese (2/16), JJ Smits (1/16), and Jan Frylinck (2/26) were the main wicket-taker.

Earlier, Sri Lanka captain Dasun Shanaka won the toss and opted to bowl first against Namibia in the World Cup’s opening match.