USA registered their second successive win at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 as they beat Namibia by 31 runs in Chennai on Sunday. After posting their highest score in T20 World Cups, 199 for 4, USA restricted the African side to 168 for 6.
It’s a hefty target and Namibia charged out of the blocks, scoring 57 for 1 in powerplay. Shadley van Schalkwyk, the top wicket-taker in the World Cup so far, provided the breakthrough once again with a smart caught and bowled to dismiss Jan Frylinck.
When Louren Steenkamp was leading the charge, Namibia were able to keep pace with their rivals. The opener struck five fours and three sixes on the way to 58. However, USA pegged them back with the wickets of set batters Steenkamp and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton (28).
Despite a handy 31 by JJ Smit lower down the order, Namibia were not able to recover enough to threaten the US target. Van Schalkwyk was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 30.
Electing to bat first, USA went full throttle against the fellow associate team. Captain Monank Patel and Shayan Jahangir set the tone for the innings with a 68-run opening partnership in 41 balls. USA plundered 65 for no loss in powerplay, with the help of four fours and four sixes. Patel also became the first US batter to notch 1000 runs in T20Is during his half-century.
Leg-spinner Willem Myburgh stalled the US march by packing off the openers. The in-form Saiteja Mukkamalla also fell to Gerhard Erasmus after Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton completed a superb catch at the boundary.
It was only a brief lull as the US middle order picked up the pace again and cantered to a big finish. Sanjay Krishnamurthi and Milind Kumar (28) used up only 47 balls for an 87-run fourth wicket stand. Going at a strike rate of over 200, Krishnamurthi struck six sixes, including one to bring up his half-century, and four fours for 68.
Erasmus and Myburgh picked up two wickets each but it was a difficult afternoon for Namibian bowlers. Their patchy fielding did not help matters either.
USA are now level on points with both India and Pakistan but behind on NRR in Group A. Their route for qualification is pretty simple: they have to hope that whichever team loses in Colombo on Sunday night is then defeated again in their final group game, and with a big enough combined margin of defeat for their NRR to take a beating. India’s NRR is far better than Pakistan’s as things stand, so the most likely route for them is to hope that Pakistan mess up twice!
Brief scores: USA 199 for four in 20 overs (Monank Patel 52, Shayan Jahangir 22, Sanjay Krishnamurthi 68 not out, Milind Kumar 28; Willem Myburgh 2/22, Gerhard Erasmus 2/27) beat Namibia 168 for six in 20 overs (Louren Steenkamp 58, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton 28, JJ Smit 31; Shadley van Schalkwyk 2/30).
