India crush Namibia by 93 runs in T20 World Cup
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India crush Namibia by 93 runs in T20 World Cup


India crush Namibia by 93 runs in T20 World Cup

Indian cricket team bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Ishan Kishan celebrate the wicket of Namibia batsman Jan Frylinck during the T20 World Cup Match in New Delhi on February 12, 2026.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

Under the hazy night sky at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday, Ishan Kishan (61, 24b, 6×4, 5×6) and Hardik Pandya (52, 28b, 4×4, 4×6) garnered the applause of a boisterous crowd with blistering half-centuries. As the night wore on, Varun Chakaravarthy (2-0-7-3) bamboozled the Namibia batters with his assortment of tricks.

Theirs were the defining contributions as India romped past Namibia by 93 runs in the T20 World Cup Group-A contest. Chasing 210, Gerhard Erasmus & Co. folded up for 116.

While the visitors nearly kept up with the asking rate in the first six overs, their limited exposure to quality spin was laid bare when Varun and Axar Patel hunted in tandem.

For the African side, Erasmus was a shining speck with figures of 4-0-20-4 .His spell of off-spin entailed a dash of improvisation – a few balls were bowled with a low, slingy arm while some others were delivered from well behind the crease. India’s batters will have to brace up for more such unorthodoxy when they square up against Pakistan’s Usman Tariq in Colombo on Sunday.

After Namibia elected to field, India motored to 86 for one in the PowerPlay. Drafted in for the unwell Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson lofted Ruben Trumpelmann over the sight-screen in the first over, and whipped Ben Shikongo for a brace of maximums. But an opportunity to make more of his time in the middle was squandered when he flicked Shikongo to deep midwicket.

Kishan duly pounced on the faintest of errors from Namibia’s novice attack. Having called for a change of willow at the start of the fifth over, he tucked into left-arm medium-pacer J.J. Smit – four sixes on the trot saw the ball sail over fine leg, long-on and deep square-leg.

He backed it up with a pull along the ground for four to cap off a 28-run sixth over, and raised his half-century in a mere 20 balls .Just as Namibia may have begun fearing the worst, a brief period of respite followed. Between overs seven and 12, India lost the wickets of Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma whilst accumulating just 20 runs.

But normal service resumed as Hardik and Shivam Dube added 81 runs off 39 balls for the fifth wicket .Hardik was all brute force, targeting the arc from extra cover to cow corner with trademark swagger. By snaring five Indian batters for just four runs in the final two overs, Namibia limited the damage to an extent. Just not enough to impact the verdict.

Published – February 12, 2026 07:24 pm IST


India crush Namibia by 93 runs in T20 World Cup
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T20 World Cup | West Indies hopes for a 2016 encore against England


India crush Namibia by 93 runs in T20 World Cup

West Indies’ Jason Holder during a practice session ahead of their ICC T20 World Cup game between England and West Indies at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on February 10, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Emmanual Yogini

As the West Indies and England prepare to face off at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday, memories of March 2016 come rushing back. Back then, West Indies launched its World T20 campaign with a thumping win over England, powered by Chris Gayle’s six-hitting spectacle — a victory that set it on course for a title-winning run that culminated in another triumph over the same opponent in the final.

A decade on, much has changed beyond the tournament being rechristened the T20 World Cup. England has since joined West Indies as two-time champions and arrives as strong contenders for a third title, with Harry Brook’s side widely tipped to go deep into the competition.

West Indies, meanwhile, begin once again as underdogs. But head coach Daren Sammy — the title-winning captain in 2012 and 2016 — believes the Shai Hope-led side is ready to challenge the best.

“I remember coming into 2016, some of the names that my cricketers were called. Some of the battles we had to fight. To this day, 10 years later, we are still fighting it,” Sammy said, adding that he would speak more openly about those challenges after the tournament.

“But we won’t let that affect what we bring on the field. We try to control the things that are within our power… Mumbai has been a place that has been kind to us in the World Cups, so we look forward to it.”

England, meanwhile, will look to sharpen its execution after surviving a major scare against Nepal on Sunday. Veteran Jos Buttler, 24 runs shy of becoming the fourth batter to score 4,000 T20I runs, felt the narrow escape could prove valuable.

“If you can hold your nerve and manage to still execute skills… that’s probably good learning for the group,” Buttler said, as England seeks to turn lessons into momentum.

Published – February 10, 2026 08:00 pm IST


T20 World Cup: Avoiding outside noise best way, says Salman as Pakistan eye Super Eight
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T20 World Cup: Avoiding outside noise best way, says Salman as Pakistan eye Super Eight


Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha on Friday said the team will try to shut out the off-field noise surrounding its planned boycott of the India match and instead focus on winning remaining group games to qualify for the T20 World Cup Super Eight stage.

Pakistan, who won the title in 2009, are coming into the tournament in the wake of their decision to boycott the February 15 group game against arch-rivals India in solidarity with Bangladesh, who were replaced by Scotland after refusing to travel to India citing security concerns.

Asked how he would deal with the situation, Salman told reporters: “By just avoiding that. It’s something we, as a group, we don’t really talk about and we don’t really see what’s happening outside in the group. And I think that’s the best we can do. We can avoid all this and just focus on our game.”

Since September last year, Indian cricket teams have adopted a no-handshake policy with Pakistan counterparts in international matches in solidarity with victims of the Pahalgam attack.

“We don’t really feel hurt or anything like that. But for the game it is not good. These things obviously should not happen,” Salman said.

“Growing up as a kid, I’ve always seen people doing what was required for the game to be improved. We, to some extent, are role models. If you do that, then kids are going to pick up this and tomorrow, they are going to do the same things.

“So, I think these things should not happen. Because if you think of role models, I think role models don’t do this stuff.” Boycotting the match against India means Pakistan will lose the 2 points on offer and thus the former champions need to win their remaining three group games to enter the knock out stage.

Apart from the India, Pakistan also have the Netherlands, USA and Namibia in their group.

Asked if there is any pressure on the team to win the first two matches, Salman said: “No, there is no pressure at all because whenever you come to an ICC tournament, you have to win almost all of your games.

“And when we came here, we thought that we will win all the games and give our best. In the same way, we will try to give our best in the games that we play.”

Pakistan are likely to face weather-related challenges in Colombo, where they are scheduled to play their group-stage matches.

Pakistan’s only warm-up match against Ireland here on February 4 was also washed out due to heavy rain.

“Weather is not in our control … the thing that is not in control, there is no point in trying to control it. And we only think about how to win the three matches that we have…”

Reflecting on off-field controversies surrounding recent India-Pakistan matches Salman said: “In the past two events more than cricket we are being asked about other things, which I think is not good.

“We have come here as a sportsman and we come to talk about cricket and play cricket. So, it’s better things stay to that extent only. We as a team and as an individual, try not to let these things affect us, and don’t see or think about these things much, because it is better to avoid such things for yourself and for the better of your game.”

Pakistan have struggled against India in ICC events in the past but Salman hoped for a better showing in this tournament.

“As a professional, we are ambassadors of our country. We represent our country here. And our effort is that only – you cannot doubt anyone’s effort or ability. But yes, we do not have the results. We cannot run away from that.

“We have to honestly say that we did not play the kind of cricket that people expect from us. Or as a team, we expect from ourselves. We have that idea and our effort is that we enhance our game and the mistakes that we made earlier, should not be repeated. And in this tournament, we will also try to do this.”

Salman admitted that the team will have to address its death bowling concerns.

“Death bowling is definitely our concern. But if you look at the last six months, there is a lot of improvement. And we have our coaches and our bowlers who are present here right now, they are doing a lot of work, and they have an idea about this. And they definitely have concerns about this.

“They are also trying to overcome it. So, hopefully, the things that have been happening earlier, will not repeat in this tournament.”

There has been debate around the unusual side-arm bowling action of Usman Tariq. However, Salman backed the bowler, terming him an “X” factor.

“I don’t understand why we are talking about his action. Because in my opinion, it is a fair action. And he has been tested twice. And he has cleared it,” he said.

“Yes, he is the X Factor of the team. And where we feel that we need an X Factor, we will definitely use him there.”

Published – February 07, 2026 03:12 am IST