Team India got an easy win ahead of their next match in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which is against Pakistan. On 12 February, the tournament co-hosts defeated Namibia by 93 runs.
After the match, India captain Suryakumar Yadav praised the boys for a commendable performance. Yadav especially praised Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan for playing stormy innings in the beginning of the first innings.
Sanju Samson was replaced by Abhishek Sharma
India came to bat first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi and the openers were Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson. Abhishek Sharma could not play the match due to stomach upset. Samson was included in the playing line-up in place of Sharma. The opening pair of Kishan and Samson proved to be effective for the Men in Blue as the duo got off to a great start for the team.
While Samson was out after scoring 22 runs in 8 balls, Ishan Kishan played an inning of 61 runs in 24 balls. Hardik Pandya quickly joined the run scorer from the middle order scoring 52 runs. Tilak Verma (25) and Shivam Dubey (23) also left their mark with the bat.
Suryakumar Yadav praised Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan
During the presentation ceremony after the match, Suryakumar Yadav said that the wicket was not easy for immaculate batting and the ball was not coming easily to the bat. The total of 209 was mostly on the board due to Samson and Kishan, and then the circular partnership between Pandya and Dubey.
The Indian captain said, “I think it was not an easy wicket to bat on, but the way Ishan and Sanju started, it looked like it was an easy wicket. And then the partnership between Shivam and Hardik, the way they batted after losing two or three wickets early, I think it was very commendable.”
Namibia could score only 116 runs for all its 10 wickets in 18.2 overs. Yadav praised the efforts of the bowlers in restricting the opposition to low scores. Jasprit Bumrah is back in action midway through the game, taking one wicket at an economy rate of 5.00 in his 4-over spell.
Jasprit Bumrah will play against Pakistan!
Suryakumar Yadav said that it was great to see Bumrah bowl all four overs of his quota and confirmed that the fast bowler will be in the line-up for the next match as well.
“It was a big plus to see Bumrah bowl all four overs. It’s good to have him back in the team. He is also ready for the next game,” Yadav assured.
Before concluding his briefing, the Team India captain praised Namibia’s bowling performance as they took 9 wickets.
Suryakumar Yadav said, “He bowled really well. I think he came out with aggression. He had his plans, he executed really well, but I was also very impressed with his bowling.”
read more:WATCH: Gary Kirsten couldn’t stop smiling when Sanju Samson fell into Namibia’s net
