Overview:
Hardik and Shivam Dube came together to take India to a big total, with the latter contributing 23 runs in 16 balls, packed with 1 four and 1 six. The two added 81 runs for the fifth wicket.
Hardik Pandya once again showed his worth with the bat in T20Is. India were in a bit of trouble after losing a few wickets against Namibia, but Hardik restored India’s advantage in the team’s second match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. He scored 52 runs off 28 deliveries, laced with 4 boundaries and 4 sixes as the Men in Blue posted 209/9 in the allotted 20 overs.
India opened with Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan after Abhishek Sharma was ruled out of the contest. Samson scored 22 runs off 8 balls, laced with 3 sixes and 1 boundary. However, Ishan went on a rampage, posting 61 runs off 24 deliveries, laced with 6 boundaries and 5 sixes.
Tilak Varma struggled to time the ball and was unable to hit big shots. He faced 21 balls to post 25 runs, including three fours. Captain Suryakumar Yadav had an ordinary day after a long time, amassing 12 runs in 13 balls. Hardik and Shivam Dube came together to take India to a big total, with the latter contributing 23 runs in 16 balls, packed with 1 four and 1 six. The two added 81 runs for the fifth wicket.
Namibia put the brakes on the scoring rate in the 19th over, with three batters heading back to the dressing room. Hardik was caught in the deep, while Rinku Singh’s mistake resulted in Dube’s runout. Axar Patel failed to open his account. The visitors were phenomenal in the last over as well. India lost five wickets in the last 12 balls.
Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus took 4 wickets while Ben Shikongo, JJ Smit, and Bernard Scholtz dismissed one batter each.