T20 World Cup 2021 Points Table: Updated standings after Sri Lanka vs Namibia match
Sri Lanka opened their T20 World Cup 2021 campaign with a convincing seven-wicket win against Namibia. Mystery spinner Maheesh Theekshana starred with his spell of 3/25 as Sri Lanka bowled Namibia out for 96.
A roaring start for Sri Lanka in their #T20WorldCup 2021 campaign 🔥
#SLvNAM | bit.ly/T20WC-M4 https://t.co/gHrsgg4VKj
Craig Williams top-scored for Namibia with 29 while captain Gerhard Erasmus made 20. Lahiru Kumara and Wanindu Hasaranga picked two wickets each while Dushmantha Chameera and Chamika Karunaratne claimed one apiece.
What should have been a straightforward chase had an early hiccup, with openers Kusal Perera and Pathum Nissanka falling early. Dinesh Chandimal also fell in the powerplay, but from then on, it was a cakewalk for Sri Lanka as they completed the chase in 13.3 overs.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa smashed 42 in just 27 deliveries while Avishka Fernando scored 30 off 28.
T20 World Cup 2021 group stage points table
Before Sri Lanka's win, Ireland won their T20 World Cup opener against Netherlands by seven wickets after Curtis Campher's sensational performance.
The Ireland all-rounder took four wickets in four deliveries to join an elite club consisting of only Lasith Malinga and Rashid Khan as players to have achieved this feat in T20 Internationals (T20Is).
A comprehensive victory for Ireland 💪
They win with 7 wickets in hand 🙌
#T20WorldCup | #IREvNED | bit.ly/T20WC-M3 https://t.co/GS0pQymV0I
Campher got the wickets of Colin Ackermann, Ryan ten Doeschate, Scott Edwards and Roelof van der Merwe in successive deliveries in the 10th over of Netherlands' innings. Campher returned with figures of 4/26 while Mark Adair took 3/9 as Netherlands were bowled out for 106.
Opener Max O'Dowd top-scored for Netherlands with his gritty knock of 51 (47). Gareth Delany then starred with the bat with his 29-ball 44 while Paul Stirling hit an unbeaten 30 off 39 deliveries to guide Ireland to victory in 15.1 overs.
With the win, Sri Lanka went on top of Group A in the group stage. They have two points with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of 2.607. Ireland are tied on points with Sri Lanka but behind them on NRR at 1.755.
Netherlands are in third place while Namibia are at the bottom of the table. On Tuesday, Scotland will take on Papua New Guinea in Group B while co-hosts Oman will face Bangladesh.