India were shocked by the USA when these teams met on Saturday, February 7. Despite being reduced to 77-6, the Men in Blue could post a commanding total of 161-9 before defending it comfortably. Against Namibia, India will enjoy an easier ride. However, they must be careful not to make the mistakes they made against the Americans. They take on the Namibians in their second match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Feroz Shah Kotla (Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi on Thursday, February 12.
Namibia do not have many experienced players in their ranks. Hence, are expected to suffer at the hands of the Indians. Since they are not very aware of these conditions, they may fail to read the pitch well and end up making errors. Yet, some of the seniors in their side, including captain Gerhard Erasmus and JJ Smit, must ensure that they guide the youngsters and not allow them to get overwhelmed by the situation. For Namibia, fielding well and bowling the right lengths will fetch rewards against India, as the USA showed on Saturday.
The home team will look to bat with more intent and not throw their wickets away the way they did against the USA. Although captain Suryakumar Yadav bailed them out with a well-crafted 84 not out, they will hope that their openers, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma, bring more consistency to the table. With the ball, Mohammed Siraj shone for the Indians in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence by picking up three wickets. He will be a major threat against the Namibians, too, who may not have faced pace bowling of such high quality before.
Predicted Teams
IND: Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, 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
Suryakumar Yadav (IND): India captain Suryakumar Yadav was under a lot of pressure from critics but he has regained his form now. More importantly, Yadav has served his team well as its leader and given everyone a role to perform. This has ensured that everyone in the team knows what is expected of them, and hence, their preparation and planning have become much simpler. Yadav will be the crucial cog in the Indian wheel, both with the bat and with his leadership skills.
Gerard Erasmus (NAM): In a battle of the skippers, Namibia’s Gerard Erasmus should be the first name on this list of players who can trouble the Indians. Known to be a fine batter as well as a handy off-break bowler, Erasmus has already played 63 ODIs and 70-plus T20Is. He will bring all his experience to the fore while negating the Indian bowlers in the middle overs, and then chipping in with a few wickets here and there when the need arises.
Match Prediction
India, quite naturally, are the favourites. They got their World Cup campaign off to a fairly decent start against the USA, and can expect the same this time. They have more skilful players and should comfortably defeat their opponents. Namibia do not have the experience to take them to safety against the defending champions. At best, they can spring a surprise here and there. Yet, such a surprise is not expected against India’s mighty machine.
