T20 World Cup 2026: Namibia vs USA Highlights, Match 26 - Stats, Player of the Match & More

Match Overview

Namibia and the United States of America (USA) locked horns in the 26th match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Sunday, February 15. The American captain Monank Patel won the toss and elected to bat first.

The USA openers - Monank and Shayan Jahangir - began solidly to score at more than 10 runs per over to finish the powerplay at 65 for no loss. But, Willem Myburgh struck soon after to send back Jahangir and came back three overs later to dismiss Monank. The USA slowed down a bit in the middle overs but a strong partnership of 87 runs off 47 balls between Sanjay Krishnamurthi and Milind Kumar helped USA put up 199/4 after their 20 overs.

Namibia, in response, began in earnest as well. Louren Steenkamp and Jan Frylinck formed a 54-run opening partnership within the powerplay before the man with the golden arm Shadley van Schalkwyk struck the first blow. Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton and Steenkamp formed a crucial 45-run partnership to take the Namibians to 97/1 at the halfway mark. The team was very much in the game at this stage, but a couple of wickets slowed down the scoring rate which led the chase go awry.

In the end, USA won the match by 31 runs, registering their second straight win. Meanwhile, Namibia are out of the tournament now due to three successive defeats.

Top run-scorer of the match

Top wicket-taker of the match

Player of the Match

Sanjay Krishnamurthi

Krishnamurthi came out to bat at number four after the wicket of Monank. The USA were cruising until then and needed a stable hand to carry on with the momentum. The 22-year-old not just provided that but also attacked the opposition to up the scoring rate a couple of notches. The right-hander displayed quality striking skills to take his team to a match-winning total. In the process, he got to his maiden T20I fifty as well.

Turning Point

The fourth-wicket partnership between Krishnamurthi and Milind took USA into a position of dominance at the halfway mark in the game. The 87-run stand not only allowed USA to post a 200-run target but it also provided a buffer if a big partnership transpired in the second innings. Therefore, despite the good start from the Namibians the USA found a way to come back and win by a substantial margin.

What the captains said

Winning Team Captain, Monank Patel (USA)

"Yes, we do the homework for every team now. We have done it for Namibia too. I thought winning that toss and batting first, we knew that the wickets were going to get better, so we wanted to make sure that we get a proper start and I thought the partnership between myself and Shayan was very crucial. And later on, the way Sanjay finished off the innings, great to see him, and we knew that 200 is a good score if we keep good pressure through our bowling. I have opened innings most of the times and after the first few games, I decided to open the innings again and I thought that my role was to play freely and make sure that I express myself and today was the day that I got a chance early and I capitalized and I am happy that it came through winning for us."

Losing Team Captain, Gerhard Erasmus (NAM)

"I thought it was a nice wicket. It turned out to be a really good scoring wicket. But we would have all liked to also bat first and put some pressure on the ball. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way. I think that's the way it goes. You can't really control tosses, but you just play the game. We know it is a contest, bat and ball, and their batters played exceptionally well at the front. We tried to do as a top plan from the previous game. Unfortunately, our plan was quite tough to handle again. But yeah, credit goes to their pair. My bowers rolled it up and then middle period and really bowled a lot to get us back in the game."

"(On Willem Myburgh) He has got great control with his leggies. Such a nice skill to have in this format of the game, I guess. All the top bowlers in the world seem to be the exponents. And I hope he goes from strength to strength because it's such a vital asset to have."