India and Namibia in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup at the Feroz Shah Kotla (Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi on Thursday, February 12. The home team come here on the back of a 29-run win over the United States in which they had been reduced to 77-6 at one stage. However, they managed to come back and defeat their opponents. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav (84 not out) and seamer Mohammed Siraj (three wickets) were the stars for the Men in Blue in their opening encounter.
India are the defending champions of this World Cup, and hence, have a lot to prove. Moreover, they are playing at home, which means that the pressure on them is tremendous. Captain Yadav and coach Gautam Gambhir have built a well-balanced squad for T20Is, covering all three aspects of the game: batting, bowling and fielding. Siraj joined the squad at the last moment as a replacement for the injured Harshit Rana. He showed the immense depth that India have in their system. Even though speedster Jasprit Bumrah was indisposed, India did not face many issues. Bumrah is expected to be back against the African side.
For the Namibians, this will be a challenge unlike any other they have faced in the past. Most of the team have played cricket in different countries across the world. Yet, they do not have much experience and expertise in the conditions of the subcontinent. Therefore, they may get foxed at the beginning by the low bounce and turn of the pitches in India and Sri Lanka. Nonetheless, some players in their squad, such as JJ Smit, Jan Frylink and captain Gerhard Erasmus, have enough experience in international cricket to guide their teammates. Still, it will be a tall ask for Namibia to compete on level footing with the hosts, who have won this tournament twice already.
Predicted Teams
IND: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
NAM: Louren Steenkamp, Jan Frylink, Gerard Erasmus (c), JJ Smit, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Malan Kruger, Zane Green (wk), Bernard Scholtz, Max Heingo, Ruben Trumpelmann, Willem Myburgh.
Key Players
Kuldeep Yadav (IND): Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav can prove to be the undoing of the Namibian batting unit singlehandedly. Yadav, a chinaman, is known to get the ball to turn both ways, and can stop the flow of runs in the middle overs. He has improved a lot over the years, and he also has experience (53 T20Is) under his belt now. Yadav's biggest strength is his ability to vary the pace of every delivery he bowls and lure the batters into attempting shots without much control.
Jan Frylinck (NAM): Top-order batter Jan Frylinck is a player that the Indians have to be wary of. The southpaw is known for his timing and willingness to step down the track to spinners the moment they toss the ball up. Frylinck, who has played U-19 cricket for South Africa, has played close to fifty ODIs and more than 70 T20Is, which means that he has the maturity to pick and choose his shots with conviction. He can be a thorn in India's flesh if they feed him short and wide deliveries.
Match Prediction
Namibia will struggle against the might of the Indians, that too, on the latter’s home soil. The Men in Blue know these conditions well and have some of the best players (Jasprit Bumrah, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav) in their ranks. The levels of skill and experience that India have at their disposal will overwhelm Namibia and force them to go into their shell. The youngsters in the Namibian side are still rather inexperienced. This means that India will have a free hand.