<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss xmlns:media="http://search.yahoo.com/mrss/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" version="2.0">
  <channel>
    <title>Aaj TV English News - Sports</title>
    <link>https://english.aaj.tv/</link>
    <description>Aaj TV English</description>
    <language>en-Us</language>
    <copyright>Copyright 2026</copyright>
    <pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 22:40:19 +0500</pubDate>
    <lastBuildDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2026 22:40:19 +0500</lastBuildDate>
    <ttl>60</ttl>
    <item xmlns:default="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/">
      <title>India thump Namibia ahead of Pakistan clash</title>
      <link>https://english.aaj.tv/news/330452429/india-thump-namibia-ahead-of-pakistan-clash</link>
      <description>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Defending champions India continued their march towards the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup with a 93-run plastering of Namibia in a group A contest at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Put into bat, India racked up 209-9 after opener Ishan Kishan (61) and middle-order batter Hardik Pandya (52) struck rapid half-centuries.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;They returned to bundle out Namibia for 116 in 18.2 overs to register their second successive victory and top the group because of their net run-rate, which is superior to Pakistan, who also have four points from two games.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;The Asian arch-rivals will clash in a blockbuster in Colombo on Sunday.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“I think it was a pretty good game for everyone,” India captain Suryakumar Yadav said.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“It was not an easy wicket to bat on. The way Ishan and Sanju (Samson) started, it didn’t really look like it, but it was a difficult wicket.”&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;With Abhishek Sharma, currently the top-ranked T20 batsman, still recovering from a stomach infection, an out-of-form Samson had another opportunity to impress after India were put into bat.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Samson (22) looked keen to make it count too. The right-hander smacked three sixes but frittered away the start and fell in the second over.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Kishan was given lbw on 11, but the opener immediately reviewed the decision and replays confirmed he had edged it before the ball hit his pad.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Namibia wished it was not the case because Kishan went on to smash JJ Smit for four sixes in a row to race to a 20-ball fifty.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;To make matters worse for Namibia, Louren Steenkamp dropped Tilak Varma (25) when the batter was on 19.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;India needed 4.3 overs to reach 50, and their next 50 came off just 14 balls.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus (4-20) ended Kishan’s 24-ball blitz, and they managed to apply the brake after the departures of Varma and Suryakumar (12).&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Pandya, who hit four sixes, and Shivam Dube (23) provided the late flourish to take India past the 200-mark.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Steenkamp (29) and Jan Frylinck (22) began positively, but Namibia kept losing wickets to drift out of contention.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;For India, a fit-again Jasprit Bumrah bowled four tidy overs, claiming the wicket of Ruben Trumpelmann with a trademark yorker.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;Varun Chakravarthy (3-7) was the pick of the Indian bowlers, while fellow spinner Axar Patel and player-of-the-match Pandya claimed two wickets apiece.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;p&gt;“After the powerplay, we thought dew might make bowling tough, and we had a chance. But that spell from Varun broke the back of our chase,” Erasmus said.&lt;/p&gt;
</description>
      <content:encoded xmlns="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"><![CDATA[<p><strong>Defending champions India continued their march towards the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup with a 93-run plastering of Namibia in a group A contest at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.</strong></p>
<p>Put into bat, India racked up 209-9 after opener Ishan Kishan (61) and middle-order batter Hardik Pandya (52) struck rapid half-centuries.</p>
<p>They returned to bundle out Namibia for 116 in 18.2 overs to register their second successive victory and top the group because of their net run-rate, which is superior to Pakistan, who also have four points from two games.</p>
<p>The Asian arch-rivals will clash in a blockbuster in Colombo on Sunday.</p>
<p>“I think it was a pretty good game for everyone,” India captain Suryakumar Yadav said.</p>
<p>“It was not an easy wicket to bat on. The way Ishan and Sanju (Samson) started, it didn’t really look like it, but it was a difficult wicket.”</p>
<p>With Abhishek Sharma, currently the top-ranked T20 batsman, still recovering from a stomach infection, an out-of-form Samson had another opportunity to impress after India were put into bat.</p>
<p>Samson (22) looked keen to make it count too. The right-hander smacked three sixes but frittered away the start and fell in the second over.</p>
<p>Kishan was given lbw on 11, but the opener immediately reviewed the decision and replays confirmed he had edged it before the ball hit his pad.</p>
<p>Namibia wished it was not the case because Kishan went on to smash JJ Smit for four sixes in a row to race to a 20-ball fifty.</p>
<p>To make matters worse for Namibia, Louren Steenkamp dropped Tilak Varma (25) when the batter was on 19.</p>
<p>India needed 4.3 overs to reach 50, and their next 50 came off just 14 balls.</p>
<p>Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus (4-20) ended Kishan’s 24-ball blitz, and they managed to apply the brake after the departures of Varma and Suryakumar (12).</p>
<p>Pandya, who hit four sixes, and Shivam Dube (23) provided the late flourish to take India past the 200-mark.</p>
<p>Steenkamp (29) and Jan Frylinck (22) began positively, but Namibia kept losing wickets to drift out of contention.</p>
<p>For India, a fit-again Jasprit Bumrah bowled four tidy overs, claiming the wicket of Ruben Trumpelmann with a trademark yorker.</p>
<p>Varun Chakravarthy (3-7) was the pick of the Indian bowlers, while fellow spinner Axar Patel and player-of-the-match Pandya claimed two wickets apiece.</p>
<p>“After the powerplay, we thought dew might make bowling tough, and we had a chance. But that spell from Varun broke the back of our chase,” Erasmus said.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
      <category>Sports</category>
      <guid>https://english.aaj.tv/news/330452429</guid>
      <pubDate>Thu, 12 Feb 2026 23:37:46 +0500</pubDate>
      <author>none@none.com (Reuters)</author>
      <media:content url="https://i.aaj.tv/large/2026/02/12233730fe6a095.webp" type="image/webp" medium="image" height="480" width="800">
        <media:thumbnail url="https://i.aaj.tv/thumbnail/2026/02/12233730fe6a095.webp"/>
        <media:title>India’s Ishan Kishan celebrates after reaching his half-century against Namibia at Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi on February 12, 2026. Reuters
</media:title>
      </media:content>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>
