Namibia stuns Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup opener

Namibia made a fantastic start to their T20 World Cup campaign by defeating Sri Lanka by a massive margin of 55 runs. On a two-paced surface in Geelong, JJ Smit and Jan Frylinck helped Namibia to turn things around with their bats before their bowlers troubled Sri Lanka's batting order.

Sri Lankan fast bowlers got off to a fierce start

Sri Lanka's pace bowlers tortured Namibia's batting order during the first 15 overs. Dushmantha Chameera, who was sidelined by a calf injury during the Asia Cup, dismissed Michael van Lingen in the second ball of his first over. In the third over, Pramod Madushan removed Divan la Cock, and in the fifth over, Karunaratne dismissed Loftie-Eaton.
Before Erasmus was dismissed by Hasaranga, he and Baard tried to turn the tide for Nambia but could only muster 41 runs in 7 overs.

Frylinck and Smit finished things well for Namibia

After 15 overs, Namibia was 95 for 6, but a 68-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Smit and Frylinck allowed them to reach 163 runs. Smit and Frylinck completely dominated the Lankan bowling in the final five overs. Namibia set a 163-run target for Sri Lanka. Frylinck scored 44 off 28 balls, and Smit scored 31 off 16 balls.

Sri Lanka had a rough start to the powerplay

The top of Sri Lanka's order had trouble coping with the Namibian bowling assault. Kusal Mendis was dismissed by Zane Green for 6(6), and Ben Shikongo's double-wicket maiden put Sri Lanka in trouble. Frylinck made a bowling impression after making one with the bat. Dhananjaya was dismissed by him on 12(11). After 10 overs, Sri Lanka was 72-4.

For Sri Lanka, the middle order fell through

Rajapaksa was dismissed by Bernard Scholtz, which caused Sri Lanka's middle order to crumble, going from 79 for 5 in 12 overs to 92 for 9 in 16 overs. Theekshana and Chameera helped Sri Lanka reach the 100-run mark, but Wiese took Chameera's wicket on the final ball of the 19th over, and Sri Lanka was dismissed for 108 runs.