Historic day for us, says Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus after thrashing Sri Lanka in T20 World Cup

Namibia pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the T20 World Cup 2022 on the opening day of the tournament as they stunned Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka at the Simonds Stadium in Geelong on Sunday (October 16). Ranked 14th in the ICC T20I team rankings, Namibia produced an excellent all-round performance to outclass mighty Sri Lanka by 55 runs in the first round of Group A.

Namibia rode on a brilliant all-round performance from Jan Frylinck, who played a great cameo of 28-ball 44 down the order before picking up a couple of wickets with the ball to power his team to a comprehensive victory. Asked to bat first, Namibia posted a strong total of 163 runs on the board before their bowlers comfortably defended the total.

Reacting to his team’s stunning win against the Asia Cup champions, Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus called it a historic day for Namibian cricket. Namibia had qualified for the T20 World Cup last year, finishing second behind Sri Lanka in a group that also has Ireland and Netherlands. They have since been on the rise and have given a great account of their skills and talent in the shortest format.

Also Read: Namibia stun Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka in T20 World Cup 2022, inflict 55-run defeat

“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,” said Namibia skipper Erasmus.

However, he insisted the team has a long way to go if they are to qualify for the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup. With the big win against Sri Lanka, Namibia are well placed to make it to the next round but will be wary of slip-ups in their remaining two games against UAE and Netherlands.

“We understand the bigger picture as well. Credit goes to Pierre (de Bruyn) the way he has installed coaching to this team, one that’s a winning culture and one that sticks together. With the limited resources, I don’t think there’s anyone else that could run such a tight ship,” said Erasmus crediting the coaching staff for the team’s good show.

Namibia were 93/6 at one stage during their innings with Sri Lankan bowlers looking in control. However, Frylinck (44) combined with JJ Smit, who scored an unbeaten 31 off just 16 balls to propel the Erasmus-led side to a fighting total of 163 runs.

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In reply, the Sri Lankan batting line-up fell like a pack of cards as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Some disciplined bowling from the Namibian pacers kept Sri Lanka on the toes as the Asia Cup champions were skittled out for 108 runs in 19 overs. Sri Lanka have two games remaining against UAE and Netherlands, respectively and can’t afford another slip-up in the tournament.