New Delhi: India crushed Namibia by 93 runs in the Group A clash of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Thursday. It is India’s biggest T20 win so far.
Blistering half-centuries by Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya took India to 209/9 in their 20 overs, despite Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus claiming career-best figures of 4-20.
In return, Namibia was bundled out for 116/10.
Earlier, Kishan blazed his way to 61 off 24 balls while Pandya contributed 52 off 28 balls, but Erasmus used his unorthodox slingy deliveries to restrict the damage done by the Indian batting line-up on a pitch which gripped a little for the spinners.
India raced to 104/1 in just seven overs, with Kishan particularly brutal against the pace bowlers before falling to the first ball of spin from Erasmus.
He and Bernard Scholtz created a stranglehold through the middle overs. Though Pandya fought back with a late fifty, India lost five wickets in the last two overs. The stunning show of strokeplay meant India’s Power-play tally of 86/1 is the highest total in the six-over phase in this competition.
All eyes are now on the much-awaited India-Pakistan match in Sri Lanka on Sunday.
In another match, Italy stand-in captain Harry Manenti described his side’s emphatic 10-wicket win over Nepal in their second match of the T20 World Cup 2026 played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on Thursday as pretty extraordinary, saying the team had finally shown the world what it is capable of on the biggest stage.
