Team IND in “Group of death”?: Namibia’s surprise victory

In the tournament’s opening match, Sri Lanka, the Asia Cup winners and 2014 champions, were shattered by 55 runs by Namibia, which is ranked 14th in the ICC rankings.

On Sunday, the 2022 T20 World Cup kicked off at Kardinia Park in Geelong. Nobody had any idea that the tournament would begin with an early upset. West Indies and Sri Lanka were the clear favourites to win the World Cup’s preliminary round. Eight teams are competing for the remaining four spots in the Super 12 stage, which will begin on October 22.

Namibia, which is 14th in the ICC rankings, beat Sri Lanka, the Asia Cup champions from 2014, by 55 runs in the tournament’s opening match.

After the match, however, the most talked-about topic was what this unexpected defeat for Sri Lanka might mean for Team India, led by Rohit Sharma, in this World Cup.

This is the big time
Namibia closing to a memorable World Cup win vs Sri Lanka pic.twitter.com/MMmdPwO7Oq

— Abdul Ghaffar 🇵🇰 (@GhaffarDawnNews) October 16, 2022

There will be two groups in the preliminary round of the 2022 T20 World Cup.In Super 12, Afghanistan, England, Australia, and New Zealand will join the winner of Group A and the runner-up of Group B in Group 1. In addition, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and South Africa will join the winners of Group B and Group A in Super 12.

Before the tournament started on Sunday, many predicted that Sri Lanka would be in Group 1 and West Indies would be in Group 2, which could have resulted in a fair matchup for either team. However, Sri Lanka’s shocking defeat has opened up the tournament as a whole.

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In contrast, if West Indies perform as predicted, Group 1 will undoubtedly become a “group of death” in this World Cup, implying that India will have a challenging task to complete in order to advance to the semi-final stage of the competition. However, if Sri Lanka win their remaining two matches, which are against the Netherlands and the United Arab Emirates, and Namibia complete a winning streak, Dasun Shanaka’s team may find themselves in Group 1 of the Super 12.