Shadley van Schalkwyk maintained his impressive run with the ball, claiming two key wickets as the USA limited Namibia to 168/6 in 20 overs to secure a commanding 31-run victory in their final T20 World Cup 2026 group-stage match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday. The win marked USA’s second in succession and kept their Super 8 ambitions alive. However, their qualification hopes now hinge on either India or Pakistan losing both of their remaining group fixtures by significant margins. Set a daunting 200-run target, Namibia began confidently. Openers Jan Frylink and Louren Steenkamp scored briskly at over ten runs per over while keeping the required rate under control. The breakthrough came in the fifth over when van Schalkwyk dismissed Frylink, who made 19 off 15 balls, leaving Namibia 57/1 at the end of the powerplay. Louren continued to counterattack, adding 45 runs with Loftie-Eaton, who struck 28 off 17 balls with four boundaries. Louren reached his half-century in 33 balls but fell for 58 off 39 deliveries, including five fours and three sixes, when Shubham Ranjane deceived him with a slower ball in the 13th over. Captain Gerhard Erasmus followed soon after for 6, and Namibia could not recover. JJ Smit and Zane Green, who retired out in the 18th over, struggled to keep pace as the asking rate climbed. Van Schalkwyk returned figures of 2/30, while Sourabh Netravalkar, Ali Khan and Ranjane took one wicket apiece. Earlier, half-centuries from captain Monank Patel and Sanjay Krishnamurthi powered the USA to 199/4. Monank and Shayan Jahangir put on 68 for the first wicket, with USA reaching 65 without loss in the powerplay. Shayan made 22 before debutant Willem Myburgh struck. Monank brought up his fifty in 27 balls and became the first USA batter to reach 1000 T20I runs. After Monank (52) and Saiteja Mukkamalla (17) fell in quick succession, Milind Kumar and Sanjay added 87 runs to wrest back control. Sanjay smashed 68 not out off 33 balls, including four fours and six sixes, while Milind contributed 28 off 20. Brief Scores: USA 199/4 (Sanjay Krishnamurthi 68*, Monank Patel 52, Milind Kumar 28; Willem Myburgh 2-22, Gerhard Erasmus 2-27) beat Namibia 168/6 (Louren Steenkamp 58, JJ Smit 31; Shadley van Schalkwyk 2-30, Shubham Ranjane 1-6) by 31 runs.
