This day historic for us, want to qualify for Super 12 stage: Namibia skipper Erasmus after win over Sri Lanka
Oct 16, 2022
South Geelong [Australia], October 16 : After his side's 55-run win against Sri Lanka in their Group A match of ICC T20 World Cup 2022, Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus said that the day is extremely historic for them and the side wants to qualify for the Super 12 stage of the tournament.
An all-round Namibia pulled off an upset for ages after defeating Asia Cup 2022 champions Sri Lanka by 55 runs in their Group A, round one match of ICC T20 World Cup 2022 at Geelong on Sunday.
"Incredible journey, last year was a special experience for us. We have started a great win, but lot of work to do throughout this tournament still. It has 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. Credit goes to Pierre (de Bruyn) the way he has installed coaching to this team, one that is a winning culture and one that sticks together. With the limited resources, I do not think there is anyone else that could run such a tight ship," said Erasmus in a post-match presentation.
Put to bat first by Namibia, they were off to a shaky start. The intent was always visible in the innings but wickets kept falling at regular intervals. In 15 overs, Namibia was at 95/6. But they accelerated in the final five overs, scoring 68 runs. Jan Frylinck (44 off 28 balls) and JJ Smit (31* off 16 balls) helped their side reach 163/7 in 20 overs.
Pramod Madushan (2/37) was the standout Sri Lankan bowler. Maheesh Theekshana, Dushmantha Chameera, Chamika Karunaratne and Wanindu Hasaranga took a wicket each.
Chasing 164, Sri Lanka were caught by surprise by fantastic bowling from Namibia and some electric displays of fielding. Only captain Shanaka (29 off 23 balls) and Bhanuka Rajapaksa (20 off 21 balls) could score something decent as the Asian champs were bundled out for just 108 runs and lost the match by 55 runs.
David Wiese (2/16) and Bernard Scholtz (2/18) were the leading bowlers for Namibia. Ben Shikongo and Jan Frylinck also took two scalps while JJ Smit took one. Frylinck was titled with the 'Man of the Match' award for his all-round performance. He scored 44 and took 2/26 with the ball.
