By Admin 
After the stormy half-centuries of openers Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya, with the magic of spin by Varun Chakraborty, India registered its second consecutive win by defeating Namibia by 93 runs in a one-off match of Group A of the ICC T20 World Cup here on Thursday.
With the half-centuries of Ishan (61 runs, 24 balls, five sixes, six fours) and Pandya (52 runs, 28 balls, four sixes, four fours), India scored 209 runs for nine wickets, in response to which Namibia’s team was all out for 116 runs in 18.2 overs in front of the sharp bowling of Chakraborty (three wickets for seven runs), (two wickets for 21 runs) and Akshar Patel (two wickets for 20 runs). Shrinked. From Namibia, apart from openers Lauren Steenkamp (29) and Jan Frylink (22), no other batsman could even touch the 20-run mark. The team lost its last eight wickets by adding only 30 runs.
Ishan gave India a fast start by adding 79 runs in 31 balls for the second wicket with Tilak Verma (25), while Pandya increased the run rate in the last overs by making a partnership of 81 runs in 39 balls with Shivam Dubey (23).
The Indian team will now play its next match against arch-rival Pakistan in Colombo on 15th February, on which all eyes will be fixed. The government of Pakistan had initially decided to boycott this match against India but later allowed its team to play in this match.
While chasing the target, Namibia made a good start by scoring 57 runs for one wicket in the power play. After hitting a four and a six on Pandya, Frylink also hit two consecutive fours on Arshdeep Singh but was caught by Dubey at deep midwicket on the ball of the same fast bowler.
Steenkamp scored 17 runs off Arshdeep in the sixth over with two fours and a six. Chakraborty gave the second blow to Namibia by bowling Steenkamp on the very first ball.
Captain Erasmus welcomed Akshar Patel with two sixes at midwicket but Jane Nicole Lofty Eaton (13) waved Chakraborty’s ball in the air and was caught by Akshar at long off. Chakraborty also bowled JJ Smit (0) after one ball.
In Akshar’s next over, Erasmus (18) also gave an easy catch to Tilak at long off, while in the left-arm spinner’s next over, Malan Kruger (05) caught Bumrah at short fine leg, due to which Namibia’s score increased from 86 runs for two wickets to 94 runs for six wickets.
Namibia needed 105 runs in the last five overs and the team could not even come close to this score.
Ruben Trumpelman (06) was bowled by Bumrah while Pandya ended the innings of Bernard Scholtz (04) and Ben Shikongo (00). After the end of the 17th over of the innings, a spectator entered the field and was taken out by the security personnel.
India registered victory after Zane Green (11) hit wicket on Dubey’s ball. Earlier, the spin pair of captain Gerhard Erasmus (four wickets for 20 runs in four overs) and Bernard Scholtz (one wicket for 41 runs in four overs) curbed India’s run rate by bowling smoothly in the middle overs.
India had scored 104 for one wicket in seven overs but the team could only add 105 runs in the last 13 overs.
Erasmus won the toss and invited India to bat first. Sanju Samson (22) opened the account with a six on Ruben Trumpelman (38 runs without wicket) and then hit two sixes and a four on consecutive balls of Ben Shikongo (1 wicket for 41 runs). However, he played Shikongo’s next ball into the hands of Lauren Steenkamp at deep midwicket.
Ishan welcomed JJ Smit (one wicket for 50 runs) with two consecutive fours while Shikongo’s ball also hit the boundary. Tilak also hit two fours on Trumpelman.
Ishan completed his half-century in 20 balls with four sixes and one four on consecutive balls from Smit in the sixth over. India scored 86 runs for one wicket in the power play.
Tilak was lucky on the score of 19 runs when Steenkamp dropped his catch at backward point off Max Heingo’s ball.
Ishan completed India’s century in 6.5 overs with sixes and fours on consecutive balls of Heingo, which is the fastest century of any team in the Men’s T20 World Cup.
Off-spinner Erasmus gave a big success to Namibia by getting Ishan caught by Shikongo at deep midwicket on the very first ball. Captain Suryakumar Yadav also got stumped by wicketkeeper Zane Green on the ball of left arm spinner Scholtz after scoring 12 runs in 13 balls.
After this, Tilak too, while trying to play a big shot on the ball of Erasmus, was caught by Smit at long off, due to which India’s score became 124 runs for four wickets in the 12th over.
Dubey and Pandya took the team’s score beyond 150 runs with one six each on Scholtz in the 15th over. Hardik hit six and two fours on consecutive balls of Shikongo. He completed his half-century in 27 balls and the team’s 200 runs with a six on Erasmus in the 19th over. However, he returned to the pavilion after being caught at deep backward square leg on the next ball.
Dubey was run out on the next ball while Erasmus also bowled Akshar Patel (0) in the same over. Rinku Singh also became the victim of Smit after scoring one run while Arshdeep Singh (02) was run out on the last ball.