Sachin Tendulkar lauds Namibia after historic win over Sri Lanka
Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar congratulated Namibia after they stunned the Asia Cup champions, Sri Lanka, defeating them by 55 runs in the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 opener at the GMHBA Stadium in Geelong on Sunday, October 16.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, Sachin came up with a unique way to describe how big a victory this indeed was for Namibia and said that the associate team has made a solid statement.
Sri Lanka, who came into this tournament high on confidence after last month’s Asia Cup triumph in the UAE, suffered an early setback with his big loss and have no other choice than to win all of their remaining group games to get a passage to the Super 12.
Namibia upset Sri Lanka in a thrilling contest
Heading into this contest, the Lankans were expected to earn their first two points as they looked strong on paper. Batting first, the Namibians kept losing wickets at regular intervals. With the seasoned David Wiese back in the dugout in the 15th over, Namibia found themselves in all sorts of trouble. However, a 60-run seventh-wicket stand between Jan Frylinck (44) and JJ Smith (31*) ensured that they posted a respectable total of 163/7 on the board.
In reply, what should have ideally been a regulation chase for Sri Lanka saw them capitulating as all their batters struggled on a bouncy surface. Only skipper Dasun Shanaka (29*) and power-hitter Bhanuka Rajapaksa (20) challenged the Namibian bowlers. Unfortunately for the Lankans, even the duo’s combined efforts were not enough as they were all out for 108 in the penultimate over.
