T20 World Cup 2026 | Namibia skipper Erasmus joins list of captains with best bowling figures in tournament history with 4/20 vs India. He joined Rashid Khan (4/17 vs NZ in T20 WC 2024), Vettori (4/20 vs India in T20 WC 2007), and Oman's Zeeshan Maqsood (4/20 vs PNG in T20 WC 2021).

T20 World Cup 2026 | Namibia skipper Erasmus joins list of captains with best bowling figures in tournament history with 4/20 vs India. He joined Rashid Khan (4/17 vs NZ in T20 WC 2024), Vettori (4/20 vs India in T20 WC 2007), and Oman's Zeeshan Maqsood (4/20 vs PNG in T20 WC 2021).

T20 World Cup 2026 | Namibia lost vs India but captain Erasmus creates history with best bowling figures in tournament history

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&nbsp;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:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/namibia-pull-off-stunning-55-run-win-against-asia-cup-champions-sri-lanka-in-t20-world-cup-2022-525829">Namibia stun Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka in T20 World Cup 2022, inflict 55-run defeat</a>

"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.

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/watch-dream-come-true-moment-for-11-year-old-as-he-bowls-to-india-captain-rohit-sharma-in-nets-525824">WATCH -&nbsp;Dream come true moment for 11-year-old as he bowls to India captain Rohit Sharma in nets</a>

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.

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).

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. Also Read: WATCH - Dream come true moment for 11-year-old as he bowls to India captain Rohit Sharma in nets 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.

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

Gerhard Erasmus led from the front with a well-crafted unbeaten fifty to guide debutants Namibia to a historic eight-wicket win over Ireland in the first round Group B match and qualification spot in Super 12s of the ICC T20 World Cup here on Friday.

Erasmus (53 not out off 49 balls) guided Namibia's chase of 126 in the company of David Wiese, who made an unbeaten 28.

Namibia made a quiet start to their chase. Boundaries were hard to come by for Namibia batters as they dealt mostly in singles and twos. Their struggle can be gauged from the fact that they found the fence only four times in the first 10 overs, scoring 49 for one.

Needing 77 off the last 10 overs, Erasmus and Zane Green (24) shared 48 runs for the second wicket to keep Namibia in the contest.

The duo played sensibly and brought down the equation to 55 off 42 balls and with nine wickets in hand, Namibia were clear favourites to win the contest.

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/redemption-time-they-insulted-us-by-abandoning-tour-shoaib-akhtar-awaits-pakistan-new-zealand-t20-wc-tie-423016">Redemption time! They insulted us by abandoning tour: Shoaib Akhtar awaits Pakistan-New Zealand T20 WC tie</a>

But Green failed to clear Kevin O'Brien at mid-off to make the contest interesting.

After his two wickets with the ball, Wiese came to Namibia's rescue by hitting Craig Young for back-to-back sixes in the 15th over to bring down the equation to 33 off the last five overs.

Needing 21 off 18 balls, Erasmus lofted off-spinner Simi Singh over the long-off boundary and then struck two boundaries in the 19th over off Craig Young to finish off the chase in style with nine balls remaining.

Namibia have joined Sri Lanka in the Super 12s from Group A.

Earlier, asked to bowl, Namibian bowlers made a strong comeback after Ireland made a brisk start to restrict them to a modest 125 for eight.

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Ireland started brightly with Paul Stirling (38) and Kevin O'Brien (25) sharing 62 runs off just 44 balls for the opening stand.

But Namibia pulled things back by removing both the openers in quick succession as Ireland slumped to 67 for two in 8.4 overs.

After the opening partnership, Ireland innings literally fell apart as, barring skipper Andy Bilbirnie (21), no other batter could reach double-digit score.

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/sports/not-hardik-pandya-or-rishabh-pant-wasim-akram-names-indias-gamechanger-ahead-of-pakistan-t20-wc-face-off-422995">Not Hardik Pandya or Rishabh Pant! Wasim Akram names India's gamechanger ahead of Pakistan T20 WC face-off</a>

The dismissal of Gareth Delany pegged back Ireland considerably as their batters found it difficult to keep up the scoring rate, reaching just 95 runs for the loss of three wickets at the end of the 15th over.

Bilbirnie tried his best to lift the innings but he also struggled to rotate the strike against some incisive bowling by Namibia in the second half of the innings, picking up six wickets by conceding just 54 runs in the last 10 overs.

Ireland's problems were compounded when left-arm pacer Jan Frylinck snared two wickets in the 16th over -- first Bilbirnie LBW and then Curtis Campher.

Wickets continued to tumble as Weise next accounted for Harry Tector as Ireland's innings went from bad to worse.

Frylinck (3/21) was the pick of the bowlers for Namibia, while Wiese (2/22) also snared two wickets.&nbsp;

Gerhard Erasmus led from the front with a well-crafted unbeaten fifty to guide debutants Namibia to a historic eight-wicket win over Ireland in the first round Group B match and qualification spot in Super 12s of the ICC T20 World Cup here on Friday.

Gerhard Erasmus led from the front with a well-crafted unbeaten fifty to guide debutants Namibia to a historic eight-wicket win over Ireland in the first round Group B match and qualification spot in Super 12s of the ICC T20 World Cup here on Friday. Erasmus (53 not out off 49 balls) guided Namibia's chase of 126 in the company of David Wiese, who made an unbeaten 28. Namibia made a quiet start to their chase. Boundaries were hard to come by for Namibia batters as they dealt mostly in singles and twos. Their struggle can be gauged from the fact that they found the fence only four times in the first 10 overs, scoring 49 for one. Needing 77 off the last 10 overs, Erasmus and Zane Green (24) shared 48 runs for the second wicket to keep Namibia in the contest. The duo played sensibly and brought down the equation to 55 off 42 balls and with nine wickets in hand, Namibia were clear favourites to win the contest. ALSO READ | Redemption time! They insulted us by abandoning tour: Shoaib Akhtar awaits Pakistan-New Zealand T20 WC tie But Green failed to clear Kevin O'Brien at mid-off to make the contest interesting. After his two wickets with the ball, Wiese came to Namibia's rescue by hitting Craig Young for back-to-back sixes in the 15th over to bring down the equation to 33 off the last five overs. Needing 21 off 18 balls, Erasmus lofted off-spinner Simi Singh over the long-off boundary and then struck two boundaries in the 19th over off Craig Young to finish off the chase in style with nine balls remaining. Namibia have joined Sri Lanka in the Super 12s from Group A. Earlier, asked to bowl, Namibian bowlers made a strong comeback after Ireland made a brisk start to restrict them to a modest 125 for eight. Namibia hold their nerves to script history in Sharjah ✍️#NAMvIRE report 👇#T20WorldCup https://t.co/H1h5C5v1tg — T20 World Cup (@T20WorldCup) October 22, 2021 × Ireland started brightly with Paul Stirling (38) and Kevin O'Brien (25) sharing 62 runs off just 44 balls for the opening stand. But Namibia pulled things back by removing both the openers in quick succession as Ireland slumped to 67 for two in 8.4 overs. After the opening partnership, Ireland innings literally fell apart as, barring skipper Andy Bilbirnie (21), no other batter could reach double-digit score. ALSO READ | Not Hardik Pandya or Rishabh Pant! Wasim Akram names India's gamechanger ahead of Pakistan T20 WC face-off The dismissal of Gareth Delany pegged back Ireland considerably as their batters found it difficult to keep up the scoring rate, reaching just 95 runs for the loss of three wickets at the end of the 15th over. Bilbirnie tried his best to lift the innings but he also struggled to rotate the strike against some incisive bowling by Namibia in the second half of the innings, picking up six wickets by conceding just 54 runs in the last 10 overs. Ireland's problems were compounded when left-arm pacer Jan Frylinck snared two wickets in the 16th over -- first Bilbirnie LBW and then Curtis Campher. Wickets continued to tumble as Weise next accounted for Harry Tector as Ireland's innings went from bad to worse. Frylinck (3/21) was the pick of the bowlers for Namibia, while Wiese (2/22) also snared two wickets.

T20 World Cup: David Wiese and captain Gerhard Erasmus take debutants Namibia to Super 12s

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T20 World Cup 2026 | Namibia lost vs India but captain Erasmus creates history with best bowling figures in tournament history

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

T20 World Cup: David Wiese and captain Gerhard Erasmus take debutants Namibia to Super 12s