Namibia outclassed the Asian champions, Sri Lanka, in the first qualifying match of the T20 World Cup played in Geelong, Australia on Sunday.

Namibian all-rounder Jan Frylinck played important role in leading his side to victory. His 44 out of 28 balls were crucial to his side’s 164-target. The left-arm medium fast bowler picked two crucial wickets for Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanka and Dhananjaya de Silva.

Player of the match Frylinck said that he was “speechless” at the moment after what they achieved and he was very excited.

“We did not execute well with the bowl, which is a bit of concern,” the Sri Lankan captain said.

Shanaka, who led his side to win the Asia Cup in September, stressed the need for building some partnerships and the openers need to give a “good start”.

Namibian skipper Erasmus said that last year was a special journey and it was a special day for them. “We have brought a winning culture into the team with the limited resources we have,” he added.

The captain appreciated the head coach Pierre de Bruyne by saying “he had turned the whole ship around.”

Namibia scorecard:

Batting

• Michael van Lingen: 3 (6)
• Divan la Cock: 9 (9)
• Nicol Loftie-Eaton: 20 (12)
• Stephan Baard: 26 (24)
• Gerhard Erasmus: 20 (24)
• Jan Frylinck: 44 (28)
• David Wiese: 0 (1)
• JJ Smit: 31 (16)

Bowling

• Gerhard Erasmus: 1-8
• David Wiese: 4-16-2
• Bernard Scholtz: 4-18-2
• Ben Shikongo: 3-22-2
• JJ Smit: 3-16-1
• Jan Frylinck: 4-26-2

Sri Lanka won toss, elected to bowl

Sri Lanka skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bowl against Namibia in the opening match of the T20 World Cup in Geelong on Sunday.

The Asia Cup champions were hit by an injury to left-arm quick bowler Dilshan Madushanka and brought in Dushmantha Chameera and Pramod Madushan.

“It’s the first game, we’d like to have a look at the wicket. The boys are very confident,” Shanaka said at the toss.

“We got the same combination that we had in the Asia Cup. With the bowling we have, we’d look to restrict them to a decent score.”

Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus said he would have also fielded had he won the toss. His side is looking to repeat last year’s feat of making the Super 12 on their T20 World Cup debut.

“Both captains would have liked to bowl first. The unknown factor of exactly how the wicket will play and a bit of overhead conditions,” said Erasmus.

The teams will each play three first-round matches in their attempt to make the Super 12 stage.

“It’s three games, three games of your life. You need to be on top from the start. If we can start well with the bat, put some pressure on them, that’ll go a long way into making it a very tight game.”

Namibia: Stephan Baard, David Wiese, Gerhard Erasmus (capt), Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, JJ Smit, Jan Frylinck, Zane Green (wk), Divan la Cock, Michael van Lingen, Bernard Scholtz, Ben Shikongo

Sri Lanka: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis (wk), Dhananjaya de Silva, Danushka Gunathilaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Dasun Shanaka (capt), Wanindu Hasaranga, Chamika Karunaratne, Dushmantha Chameera, Pramod Madushan, Maheesh Theekshana.