New Delhi, February 13 Namibia captain Gerhard Erasmus acknowledged that his batsmen were completely outmatched by Varun Chakravarthy's mystery spin, a skill they had never encountered in associate cricket.
Chasing 210, Namibia remained competitive until the powerplay. However, Chakravarthy was brought in the seventh over and immediately struck with a googly on the very first ball.
He then took three wickets in 12 balls, and for Erasmus, the game was effectively over.
"It's mystery bowling. Yes, you occasionally face leg-spin googly deliveries, and people have become accustomed to that. Only in a few countries do you have players like Varun, Mujeeb, and others with this kind of skill.
"I don't think there's anyone in associate cricket who bowls like that. Honestly, I have to say that that was the turning point of the game. It was a completely new skill that we had never seen before," Erasmus said after Namibia's 93-run defeat to India on Thursday night.
Ahead of the game, Erasmus had spoken about the risk of his players being intimidated by the occasion of playing host India in their own stadium.
The stadium was expectedly packed, and the fans made a lot of noise, an environment that Erasmus and his team were not accustomed to.
However, they put up a good performance in patches. First, they bowled well in the death overs to restrict India to 209, and then they took on the home bowlers in the powerplay.
Erasmus said that the 93-run loss did not accurately reflect how his team played.
"During that period of bowling (Chakravarthy's spell), the batsmen showed resilience, especially in the later stages of their innings. So, that's something you have to get used to when playing in big stadiums in front of large crowds and against strong teams.
"The first step is not to be intimidated. Then you can express your skills more effectively. I felt that some batsmen did well in patches, but unfortunately, some key overs leaked runs, and also there was a period when we lost three or four wickets in a row," he said.
To reach the next level, Erasmus believes that the players need to learn to perform on the biggest stage.
"If you want to be a top-class cricketer, you need courage, but you also need calmness and the ability to perform under pressure. For example, my shot was too far from the ball. I need to get closer.
"How can you perform at the same level when you're playing in front of 40,000 fans and against high-quality bowlers, especially in associate cricket where there are no crowds," said the straight-talking captain.