Chennai, February 15 – Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus accepted that losing the toss and failing to show enough intent in the chase proved costly, as they suffered a 31-run defeat in their third match of the 2026 T20 World Cup, played at the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday.
USA posted a strong total of 199 after opting to bat first, thanks to a crucial opening partnership and a late flourish from their middle order. In reply, Namibia were restricted to 168/6 in 20 overs despite a fifty by Louren Steenkamp.
“I thought it was a good batting wicket. It turned out to be a really good scoring wicket. But we would have liked to bat first and put some pressure on them. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way. I think that's just how it goes. You can't really control the toss, but you just have to play the game,” Erasmus said after the match.
He acknowledged the impact of USA's top order, particularly the opening stand that laid the platform for a 199-run total.
“We know it's a contest between bat and ball, and their batsmen played exceptionally well at the start. We tried to implement a similar strategy from the previous game. Unfortunately, our plan proved difficult to execute. But credit goes to their pair,” he added.
Namibia did manage to claw their way back in the middle overs through disciplined bowling. “My bowlers bowled well in the middle overs and got us back in the game,” he noted, highlighting the effort that briefly stalled USA's momentum.
The captain also had words of praise for leg-spinner Willem Myburgh, who impressed with his control. “He has great control with his leg-spin. Such a valuable skill to have in this format of the game. All the top bowlers in the world seem to be exponents of it. And I hope he continues to improve,” he said.
Chasing 200, Namibia were well placed at the halfway stage but could not maintain the required tempo, and the captain feels that the lack of intent at the end caused problems for them.
“We were in the game at the halfway stage. We had a good foundation. I thought obviously the batsmen coming in would probably find a few deliveries difficult to adjust to the slow nature of the wicket. But yeah, we lacked enough intent. And in terms of boundaries, we didn't quite manage to score enough,” he said.
With this loss, Namibia are out of contention for the Super 8. They will play their last match against Pakistan on February 18 at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.
