Jan Frylinck yesterday smashed 44 runs and took two wickets as Namibia hammered Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka by 55 runs to cause a major upset in the opening match of the Twenty20 World Cup.
The left-handed Frylinck and JJ Smit, who made an unbeaten 31, lifted Namibia to 163-7 with their 69-run seventh-wicket stand after being invited to bat first in Geelong.
Sri Lanka were then bowled out for 108 in 19 overs with David Wiese, Frylinck, Bernard Scholtz and Ben Shikongo taking two wickets each in the team’s first of three opening-round matches.
Photo: AFP
The African minnows are on course for a second straight Super 12 place after achieving the feat on their T20 World Cup debut last year in the United Arab Emirates.
“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,” skipper Gerhard Erasmus said after the stunning win.
“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. We understand the bigger picture as well,” he added.
Shikongo silenced the Sri Lankan fans when he sent back Pathum Nissanka for nine and Danushka Gunathilaka for nought from consecutive balls.
“Once we lose three wickets in the powerplay, we are usually out of the game,” Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka said. “The plans should be simple, we need not do anything special. We’ve got a good team, it’s about the process.”
In the second match of the day, bowlers led by Bas de Leede helped the Netherlands edge out the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by three wickets in a tense low-scoring match.
Skipper Scott Edwards stood unbeaten on 16 as the Netherlands chased down their target of 112 with one ball to spare.
UAE pace spearhead Junaid Siddique returned figures of 3-24 and put the opposition in trouble with two wickets in the 14th over, but Edwards held his nerve to get his team off to a win in round one.
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