USA vs Namibia HIghlights, T20 World Cup 2026: USA Win by 31 Runs

The moment everyone is waiting for... So after the West Indies trouncing Nepal at the Wankhede, the USA ease past Namibia at the Chepauk. What will the Premadasa hold in store? The mother of all clashes, India vs Pakistan, is all set to begin from 1.30 pm GMT but our buildup has already begun, with Pakistan winning the toss and electing to bowl first. Do hop into that matchcentre and have a very good Sunday! ADIOS! TAKE CARE!

Wait and watch - So USA end the league stage with 2 wins out of 4 games, finishing with 4 points. Now, they can just sit and hope for the best. Given that their net run rate is closer to that of Pakistan's at this point, the Americans will hope that Pakistan lose to India in the next game and then go on to lose to Namibia as well. As far as the African side is concerned, the road ends for them at this World Cup but they would want to end their tournament in style, playing for pride, with a win over Pakistan on Wednesday, 18th February, 2026. That match is an afternoon game as well, starting at 9.30 am GMT, in SSC at Colombo.

Lot of our players play for Texas Super Kings - The victorious skipper of USA, MONANK PATEL, on being asked whether his side did any homework on Namibia, replies that they do the homework on every team and had done it on Namibia as well. Stresses that after winning the toss, he wanted to get off to a good start and then wanted to capitalize on it. Lauds the way Sanjay Krishnamurthi finished the innings and also praises his bowlers for ending the game nicely. On his free-flowing approach at the top, Patel says that he has opened the innings most of the times in his career and after the first 2 games, he decided to open again. Explains that his role is to play freely and express himself. Adds that in this game, he got an opportunity and is happy that his attempt came off. On Sanjay Krishnamurthi, Monank says that in the previous game, he (Monank) had spoken about Saiteja Mukkamalla and adds that Krishnamurthi is the same. Calls both the players as incredible talents in the USA squad. Adds that Krishnamurthi was under pressure as he could not capitalize in his last two innings but lauds the way he played and expressed himself in this match, calling it amazing, taking them to nearly 200. On the crowd here, Monank says that it feels like home. Calls the crowd as fantastic and thanks them for supporting his side. Cheekily ends by saying that he feels that a lot of the USA players are playing for the Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket and hence, the USA are getting that support!

Could not adapt - The captain of Namibia, GERHARD ERASMUS, on this defeat possibly being due to the toss, admits that it might be so, stating that he thought it was a nice wicket, and it did turn out to be a really good scoring wicket, but feels unfortunate that his batters came under pressure. However, he quickly adds that no one can control tosses and it is the way it is. On his bowlers suffering early, Erasmus says that they tried to hit their plan from the previous game, but admits that the Powerplay was too tough to handle. Credits the USA for their hitting but also praises his own bowlers for bowling the side back into the game. On Willem Myburgh, Gerhard says that he has good control over his leggies. The captain adds further that in this format, the top bowlers seem to be leg spinners and he is going from strength to strength. On his thoughts at the halfway mark of the run chase, GE says that Namibia were in the game at that stage. Details that they had the platform and thought that the batters coming in would have time to get adjusted to the wicket but admits that they could not adapt to the slower balls bowled by USA, who, he believes, were very deceptive. On playing for pride in their next game, Gerhard Erasmus smiles and says that for this team, it is about taking down the big boys and that certainly is their plan.

Player Of The Match - For his blistering knock of an unbeaten 68 (33), USA's SANJAY KRISHNAMURTHI has been adjudged the PLAYER OF THE MATCH. On being asked about his innings, Krishnamurthi says that against the spinners, the ball was holding up a bit and hence, he did not want to take any unnecessary risks. Adds that his strength is to hit the ball off the back foot, so he just bided his time, waiting for those balls and post the 14th over, decided to go on an all-out attack. On whether the excellent start start by the openers helped him, Sanjay nods in the affirmative, stating that both openers going past the Powerplay with at least 50 on the board is very crucial for the middle order, especially on such a pitch, with the ball turning after getting old. On his own batting, SK says that the USA had a month-long camp in Sri Lanka. Adds that in that camp, he was working on power-hitting stuff, knowing which are the balls in his zone that he can hit for sixes. On the crowd, Sanjay Krishnamurthi says that for a game like USA-Namibia, to have a crowd like this is incredible. Adds that back home, they don't get such a crowd and appreciates everyone for coming out to watch this match. On being asked to rate his knock, Sanjay replies that it might come in the top 5 or 6 of his T20 career but calls it one of his best for the USA.

... THE PRESENTATION ...

Making the most of the conditions - Earlier in the day, after opting to bat first, the United States made the most of the conditions. They batted with a plan, with the openers putting on a strong show, registering their maiden 50-run stand of this edition, while Sanjay Krishnamurthi ensured that he batted till the end from the number 4 position. They did slow down in the middle overs, managing just 51 runs from overs 7-14, but 65 in the first 6 and 83 in the last 6 more than made up for that, with skipper Monank taking care of the opening overs with a fine 52 and Krishnamurthi handling the death with a blistering unbeaten 68. The Namibian bowlers enjoyed only that middle period, where it seemed like the spinners were wrestling the control away from the Americans, especially through Willem Myburgh, but leaked way too many runs in the other two phases. Please stay tuned for the presentation.

Not too good, but good enough! Not the best of bowling displays by the USA, but they will take it. They were inconsistent and erratic in the first half, but came back really well in the next. They went for 97 runs in the first 10 overs, but the next set of 10 went for just 71 runs. While it is admissible that the pitch became very difficult to bat with the ball getting old, the bowlers rallied around and varied their lines, lengths and pace really well. Shadley van Schalkwyk was the standout once again, with 2 wickets, taking his tally to 13 in the tournament, 5 better than the next best - South Africa's Lungi Ngidi!

Well begun, but ... It was a decent start by Namibia with the bat. The top 3 got together to forge partnerships, and were 99/1 in the 11th over. But once the set batter, Louren Steenkamp, the only batter to cross 35, fell, it just became too difficult for the new batters to adapt to the surface. Eventually, they could not find the boundaries at will. Factor this - First 10 overs - Namibia hit 9 fours and 4 sixes | Last 10 overs - Namibia hit 4 fours and a solitary six. Just got choked up and though Zane Green tried his best in the end, he just did not have any batting partner.

Battle of might - Sixes hit by the USA - 11 | Sixes conceded by the USA - 5. There is the difference. Margin of difference? 31 runs. That's 5 sixes. Namibia were going on par till the 10th over, but after that, just like the USA, they could not hit against the older ball. However, unlike the Americans, who had one set batter bat deep and bring out the big strokes at the death, the African side kept losing wickets and momentum with the required rate increasing every over and fell way off track.