United States’ Saurabh Netravalkar, second left, celebrates with teammates (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

Shadley van Schalkwyk maintained his impressive run with the ball, claiming two key wickets as the USA limited Namibia to 168/6 in 20 overs to secure a commanding 31-run victory in their final T20 World Cup 2026 group-stage match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday. The win marked USA’s second in succession and kept their Super 8 ambitions alive. However, their qualification hopes now hinge on either India or Pakistan losing both of their remaining group fixtures by significant margins. Set a daunting 200-run target, Namibia began confidently. Openers Jan Frylink and Louren Steenkamp scored briskly at over ten runs per over while keeping the required rate under control. The breakthrough came in the fifth over when van Schalkwyk dismissed Frylink, who made 19 off 15 balls, leaving Namibia 57/1 at the end of the powerplay. Louren continued to counterattack, adding 45 runs with Loftie-Eaton, who struck 28 off 17 balls with four boundaries. Louren reached his half-century in 33 balls but fell for 58 off 39 deliveries, including five fours and three sixes, when Shubham Ranjane deceived him with a slower ball in the 13th over. Captain Gerhard Erasmus followed soon after for 6, and Namibia could not recover. JJ Smit and Zane Green, who retired out in the 18th over, struggled to keep pace as the asking rate climbed. Van Schalkwyk returned figures of 2/30, while Sourabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan and Ranjane took one wicket apiece. Earlier, half-centuries from captain Monank Patel and Sanjay Krishnamurthi powered the USA to 199/4. Monank and Shayan Jahangir put on 68 for the first wicket, with USA reaching 65 without loss in the powerplay. Shayan made 22 before debutant Willem Myburgh struck. Monank brought up his fifty in 27 balls and became the first USA batter to reach 1000 T20I runs. After Monank (52) and Saiteja Mukkamalla (17) fell in quick succession, Milind Kumar and Sanjay added 87 runs to wrest back control. Sanjay smashed 68 not out off 33 balls, including four fours and six sixes, while Milind contributed 28 off 20. Brief Scores: USA 199/4 (Sanjay Krishnamurthi 68*, Monank Patel 52, Milind Kumar 28; Willem Myburgh 2-22, Gerhard Erasmus 2-27) beat Namibia 168/6 (Louren Steenkamp 58, JJ Smit 31; Shadley van Schalkwyk 2-30, Shubham Ranjane 1-6) by 31 runs.

Shadley Claude van Schalkwyk

Shadley Claude van Schalkwyk stunned India on Saturday as he took three wickets in an over in their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2026 at Mumbai’s iconic Wankhede Stadium. He got Ishan Kishan with a slower ball in the second ball of the sixth over of the Indian innings, and then removed Tilak Varma with a short ball that got big on him as he handed the easiest of catches for the USA skipper Monank Patel at mid wicket. Schalkwyk then followed it with a slower short ball to Shivam Dube, Saurabh Netravalkar took a good catch at short fine leg.Before the match, there were talks of India scoring 300 against the USA. As it turned out, India were 45 for 4 at the end of the powerplay. At the time of writing this story, India were reeling at 86/6 in 14.1 overs.Earlier, USA skipper Monank Patel won the toss and opted to bowl. India did not field pace ace Jasprit Bumrah in the match as he is unwell, with Mohammed Siraj coming into the playing XI.

Who is Shadley Claude van Schalkwyk?

Shadley van Schalkwyk is a South African-born American cricketer, known as a versatile all-rounder. Born on August 5, 1988, in South Africa’s Cape Town, he bats left-handed and does right-arm medium-fast bowling for the USA national team and Major League Cricket’s Los Angeles Knight Riders.Shadley van Schalkwyk made his first-class debut in 2008 for the Eagles against the Dolphins in South Africa’s SuperSport Series, and his T20 debut against the same opposition in 2009 in Pro20 Series. In the latter half of the 2020s, Schalkwyk moved to the USA and played his first T20 international for USA on April 7, 2024, against Canada. He was part of USA squad in the 2024 T20 World Cup and has also been selected for the 2026 T20 World Cup.