T20 World Cup: Jan Frylinck stars as Namibia stuns Sri Lanka in tournament opener | Cricket News

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GEELONG: Jan Frylinck smashed 44 runs and took two wickets as Namibia beat Asia Cup champions Sri Lanka by 55 runs to cause a major upset in the Twenty20 World Cup opener on Sunday.
Left-handers Frylinck and JJ Smit, who made an unbeaten 31, lifted Namibia to 163-7 with their seventh wicket of 69 runs, after being invited to bat first in Geelong.
Sri Lanka were then bowled out for 108 in 19 overs with David Wiese, Frylinck, Bernard Scholtz and Ben Shikongo each taking two wickets in the team’s first of three opening round matches.

The African minnows are on course for a second successive Super 12 berth after achieving the feat on their T20 World Cup debut last year in the United Arab Emirates.

Namibia lost their openers within three overs with returning fast bowler Dushmantha Chameera getting a wicket third ball when Michael van Lingen was caught at deep third man.
Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton fell to a 12-ball 20 after a brilliant diving catch by wicketkeeper Kusal Mendis.

Stephan Baard and captain Gerhard Erasmus tried to rebuild with a stand of 41, but Sri Lanka’s bowlers continued to splash wickets.
Namibia slumped to 93-6 when spinner Maheesh Theekshana caught big-hitting David Wiese behind for nothing, but Frylinck, who hit four fours in his 28-ball innings, and Smit had other ideas.

The pair took the attack to the opposition with five fours and two sixes in the last five overs.
Sri Lanka, who won the Asia Cup last month, lost Kusal Mendis for six when his top edge ballooned off Wiese to end up in the gloves of Zane Green.

Ben Shikongo silenced the Sri Lankan fans when he sent back Pathum Nissanka for nine and Danushka Gunathilaka for nothing on consecutive balls.

Bhanuka Rajapaksa played out the hat-trick and survived a huge lbw shout.
Frylinck, a left-arm seamer, then got Dhananjaya de Silva as Sri Lanka slipped to 40-4.

Left-hander Rajapaksa and captain Dasun Shanaka, who made 29, tried to get the chase back on track with a partnership of 34, but Bernard Scholtz broke the stand with his left-arm spin.

Scholtz had Rajapaksa out for 20 when he skied a shot and soon sent back Wanindu Hasaranga.
Frylinck ended captain Shanka’s resistance and the lower order soon followed to spark joyous celebrations as Wiese took the last wicket.



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