India crushed Namibia in Delhi but problems remain ahead of the clash with Pakistan

A brief score: India (209/9 in 20 overs) beat Namibia (116 total in 18.2 overs) by 93 runs in Delhi in a Group A match.

India’s winning juggernaut continued in the T20 World Cup 2026 with a comprehensive 93-run win over Namibia on Thursday, February 12 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. The men in blue claimed the biggest win in the history of the tournament and also extended their record unbeaten streak to 11 matches.

While it looked like a comfortable win from the start, the contest once again exposed the weaknesses of the Indian batting line-up, especially their struggles against spin bowling in the middle overs.

Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus became the fourth captain in T20 World Cup history to take four wickets, finishing with impressive figures of 4/20 and effectively suppressing the Indian batting order through middle and death.

In the end, it took fiery half-centuries from Ishan Kishan (61 off 24 balls) and Hardik Pandya (52 off 28 balls) to guide India to a competitive total of 209/9 – a score that was well short of what the hosts could realistically post.

FIFA World Cup T20: The best of India vs Namibia

After winning the toss, the Namibian captain elected to bat first, a decision that was met with loud cheers from the packed Arun Jaitley Stadium crowd, who expected the Indian batsmen to repeatedly hit the ball into the stands during the innings.

Sanju Samson fails to make it count

However, all eyes were on Sanju Samson, who got a priceless opportunity to open the innings in the absence of Abhishek Sharma, who was ruled out due to a stomach problem. Samson came out to bat with aggressive intent and sent just his fourth delivery to the screen for maximum. The onslaught continued in the next over as Samson went after Ben Shikong and smashed consecutive sixes followed by a boundary.

Just when Samson’s willow seemed to have finally made a real knock, he burrowed into deep mid-wicket and returned to the pavilion for a brisk 22 off eight balls. Despite the meager score, Samson’s outing could prove useful for India if he gets another opportunity in the next match against Pakistan, especially with Abhishek Sharma’s fitness in doubt.

After Samson’s dismissal, Ishan Kishan ensured that the run rate graph remained steep and brought up a 20-ball half-century in the powerplay. He stitched together a massive partnership of 79 runs, from just 31 deliveries with Tilak Varma (25 off 21 balls) for the third wicket as India crossed the 100-run mark in the seventh wicket.

India is subject to spin

At that stage, it looked like the hosts were on their way to another mammoth total and might even threaten the record for the highest score in T20 World Cup history. However, Gerhard Erasmus had other ideas. The Namibian skipper first removed a well-set Kishan, leaving him caught at deep mid-wicket before dismissing Tilak Varma in his third over to put the brakes firmly on India’s scoring.

Erasmus received valuable support from Bernard Scholtz, with the duo conceding just 20 runs over five overs and claiming three wickets between the seventh and twelfth overs. Despite all the talk of a fearless batting, the Indian batting line-up looked under pressure against the spin, struggling to rotate the strike and unable to bat consistently.

This inability to control spin has raised glaring concerns for India’s star-studded batting order, especially with their next match to be played on a spin-friendly surface in Colombo against arch-rivals Pakistan.

A stunning 81-run partnership off just 39 deliveries for the fifth wicket between Hardik Pandya (52 off 28 balls) and Shivam Dube (23 off 16 balls) was enough to take India past the 200-run mark. The duo rescued the team from a precarious position of 124/4 in 11.5 overs and briefly restored momentum.

However, after their partnership ended, India failed to finish the innings on a strong note, suffering a dramatic collapse and losing their last five wickets for just five runs in the space of 11 balls. India were 104/1 after the first seven overs but managed to score only 105 runs in the remaining 13 overs during which they lost eight wickets and again exposed their batting weaknesses.

Namibia’s chase began in aggressive fashion with Louren Steenkamp (29 off 20 balls) and Jan Frylinck (22 off 15 balls) going all guns blazing. They finished the power play at 57/1 and were looking for a way to challenge India as they reached 85/2 at the end of nine overs.

Varun Chakravarthy stops Namibia’s chase

However, Indian wizard Varun Chakravarthy caught the Namibian batting off guard and struck with his very first game, shattering Steenkamp’s stumps. The visitors had no answer to Chakravarthy’s variations as he finished with excellent figures of 3/7 from two overs, scalping two more wickets in his next over to completely derail the chase.

Axar Patel (2/20 in three overs) also made a timely impact while Hardik Pandya (2/21), Jasprit Bumrah (1/20) and Shivam Dube (1/11 in 2.2 overs) cleaned up the over. Namibia were eventually bowled out for 116 in 18.2 overs, losing their last eight wickets for just 30 runs in the space of nine overs against a disciplined and versatile Indian bowling attack.

– The end

Issued by:

Rishabh Beniwal

Published on:

February 12, 2026

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