When the first match of the T20 World Cup 2022 qualifying round took place earlier today between Sri Lanka and Namibia, Sri Lanka was the overwhelming favorite for the game not just because they were a more experienced team, but also because they had only recently won the Asia Cup.
But, as the game turned out, Namibia didn’t just end up beating Sri Lanka, but they beat them in a rather convincing manner, by a margin of more than 50 runs.
It’s not that Namibia had put huge runs on the board batting first. They had been able to get just a tad above 160, which seemed well within the reach of Sri Lanka at the mid-time break, but the Sri Lankan batsmen just didn’t seem to be able to cope well with the bounce on offer while trying to chase the target.
When Sri Lanka won the Asia Cup, it was in UAE and the nature of the surfaces was completely different there. The bounce was on the lower side and spin was the major factor as well, but it wasn’t the case in Australia today where the bounce was the major factor.
Namibia’s win has made the qualifying round of the T20 World Cup 2022 very interesting
Although the bowlers of Namibia were not fast enough, they hit the pitch really hard and even their spinners got a little bit of bounce off the surface, which made it tough for the Sri Lankan batsmen to play their shots freely. In the end, it turned out to be a no-match at, and not just the Sri Lankan fans, but the cricket fans, in general, were quite shocked by the result of the game.
The fans on Twitter had surprising and in some cases, hilarious reactions as well on Namibia’s victory, but one thing is for sure this victory has now made the qualifying round of the T20 World Cup very interesting.
Here are the Twitter reactions after Namibia beat Sri Lanka in the first match of the T20 World Cup 2022 –
Take a bow Namibia 🙌🏽👏🏽 #SLvsNAM #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/y8jySVWghZ
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) October 16, 2022
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What an upset we have on our hands here ….. Namibia are on fire, fielding like they own the stadium.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) October 16, 2022
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Namibia winning this match could result in West Indies & Sri Lanka both qualifying into Group 2 with India, Pakistan, South Africa & Bangladesh – forming a group of death. Obviously a long way to go in this match & this week but that would be a big shake-up. #T20WorldCup
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) October 16, 2022
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Winning celebration by Namibia – A great day at Geelong, incredible Namibia. pic.twitter.com/rSIkuh0PWP
Advertisement— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) October 16, 2022
Who doesn’t love an @ICC event?!! Looks like we are literally going to have an upset in the first game. Asia Cup winners, 🇱🇰 may go down to Namibia 🇳🇦 WHAT..A..START!! 😱
Advertisement— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) October 16, 2022
Namibia have beaten Asia Cup winners, Sri Lanka by 55 runs. ICC, stop with these silly extra qualifying groups and just have a 16 team World Cup. #T20WorldCup2022
Advertisement— kεz (@_kezx) October 16, 2022
Did not see that coming…well played Namibia!
Still keeping my prediction as Sri Lanka will still qualify I am sure!#ICCT20WorldCup2022 @OfficialSLCAdvertisement— Mickey Arthur (@Mickeyarthurcr1) October 16, 2022
Namibia in T20 internationals:
AdvertisementMatches – 39.
Won – 27.
Lost – 12.– Commendable record maintained by Namibia!
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) October 16, 2022
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