India beat Namibia by 93 runs in the Group A match of the T20 World Cup 2026 on Thursday, February 12. Namibia won the toss and elected to field first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
Opener Ishan Kishan helped the Men in Blue get off to a flying start. The southpaw scored 61 runs off 24 balls at a jaw-dropping strike rate of 254.17. India were 120/1 after 10 overs.
However, they lost wickets at regular intervals and ultimately finished on 209/9 in 20 overs. Hardik Pandya also notched up a fine half-century, contributing 52 from 28 deliveries. Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus bowled an exceptional spell and recorded career-best T20I figures of 4-0-20-4.
Namibia went down without a fight in the run chase. They were bundled out for 116 in 18.2 overs, with Louren Steenkamp being the top performer, scoring 29 off 20. Varun Chakaravarthy was the pick of the Indian bowlers.
The mystery spinner recorded excellent figures of 2-0-7-3, while Hardik and Axar Patel took two wickets apiece. Notably, this was India’s biggest win in terms of runs in the T20 World Cups.
Hardik was named the Player of the Match for his all-round brilliance. On that note, let’s take a look at three moments from the game that generated a buzz among the fans.
#1 Ishan Kishan’s carnage powers India to a record powerplay score
Ishan Kishan took some time before going for the big shots. The opener was batting at 22 off 14 at one stage. However, he changed gears in the final over of the powerplay.
The southpaw took JJ Smit to the cleaners, hitting him for four back-to-back sixes. He followed it up with a four to complete a 20-ball half-century. His onslaught helped India register their biggest powerplay score in the T20 World Cups. They finished 86/1 after six overs.
#2 Hardik Pandya hits a monstrous 109m six
Hardik Pandya played some wonderful shots during his half-century. He struck four sixes and as many fours. The shot that garnered the most attention was his massive 109m six off left-arm spinner Bernard Scholtz’s bowling.
The bowler dished out a length delivery wide outside the off-stump. Hardik got hold of it and sent it over the long-off fence for a huge six. It is currently the biggest six of the T20 World Cup 2026.
It is worth noting that Shivam Dube hit a 107m maximum earlier in the same over.
#3 Jasprit Bumrah takes a stunning catch to dismiss Malan Kruger
Speedster Jasprit Bumrah completed a brilliant catch off Axar Patel’s bowling in the 13th over. Malan Kruger went for the sweep shot against a full-length delivery from the left-arm spinner.
However, he ended up getting a top edge, and the ball went high up in the air towards the short fine-leg region. While it initially seemed like the ball would fall away from Bumrah, he ended up plucking out a fantastic catch.
India will now take on Pakistan at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on Sunday, February 15. Namibia will face the United States of America at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on the same date.
Edited by Aditya Suketu Desai
