USA vs Namibia Highlights, T20 World Cup 2026: USA clinch 31-run victory over Namibia

Shadley van Schalkwyk to Gerhard Erasmus, OUT! CAUGHT! The pressure tells and Namibia lose their skipper. But what a catch from the keeper! Wicket number 13 in the tournament for Shadley van Schalkwyk. Full and outside off, a bit quicker than the previous deliveries, Erasmus comes forward and looks to angle it towards deep third. But he is beaten by the quickness on this ball and is late on the shot. Only manages a thick outside edge and the ball flies away, but Shayan Jahangir flings himself to his right to pouch it with one glove! The Americans are all smiles, as from 99/1, Namibia are now 123/4! EQUATION - 77 RUNS, 32 BALLS!

Shadley van Schalkwyk to JJ Smit, Full and around off, JJ Smit pushes it towards mid on for a quick run as the bowler himself gets across to stop the ball.

Shadley van Schalkwyk to Gerhard Erasmus, Outside off, dabbed towards short third for a single.

Shadley van Schalkwyk to Gerhard Erasmus, Full, outside off, cross seam, Gerhard Erasmus gets down and across to paddle but misses, due to the lack of pace, getting hit on the pads.

DRINKS BREAK. One can't help but just get the feeling that Namibia are being choked here. With two new batters in the middle, one cannot blame them either, because you cannot just go out there and start playing your shots from the word go. USA have bowled well post the 10th over, conceding just 24 runs with a solitary boundary, gaining the important wicket of Louren Steenkamp as well. Alan Wilkins on air observes that as compared to that match against the Netherlands, Harmeet is bowling way flatter today. But Nick Knight does not have an issue with that. He replies that his pace variations have been excellent and as long as he can control that, it is great. Shadley van Schalkwyk returns. 2-0-13-1 so far.

Harmeet Singh to JJ Smit, Down the leg side, fired in, 98.1 kph, JJS goes back and works it through mid-wicket for a couple.

Harmeet Singh to JJ Smit, Quicker and shorter outside off, 99.3 kph, JJ looks to cut but misses.

Harmeet Singh to Gerhard Erasmus, Fuller, around middle, 85.1 kph, Erasmus uses his feet and gets to the pitch of the ball, hitting it straight back over the bowler for another single down to long off.

Harmeet Singh to JJ Smit, Thrown up, wide outside off, 81.8 kph, massive pace difference, Smit reaches out to drive and carves it in the air. No one to catch in the circle though. The ball goes towards wide long off and it will be a single.

Harmeet Singh to Gerhard Erasmus, Back to bowling slow, short and outside off, 96.3 kph, Gerhard Erasmus goes back and cuts it behind point for a run.

Harmeet Singh to JJ Smit, Short, outside off, a touch quicker, JJ Smit goes back and punches it towards long off for a single.

Shubham Ranjane to Gerhard Erasmus, Landed wide outside off, sliced straight to short third. A wicket and 6 runs from the over.

Shubham Ranjane to JJ Smit, Short and too wide outside off, Smit reaches out to cut but ends up slicing it off the toe end behind point for a single.

Shubham Ranjane to JJ Smit, On middle and off, worked towards long on for what should have been a single. A fumble makes it a double.

Trouble for Namibia. Two new batters in the middle. JJ Smit walks in next, at number 5, replacing Louren Steenkamp.

Shubham Ranjane to Louren Steenkamp, OUT! CAUGHT! And Ranjane gets the set batter out!  Short and outside off, Steenkamp throws his bat at it again, but this time, does not get much pace to work with. Ends up playing it early and aerially, straight to point, where Mohammad Mohsin makes no mistake. End of a fine 58 from the opener but from 99/1, NAMIBIA ARE NOW 112/3, NEEDING ANOTHER 88 RUNS FROM 45 BALLS!

Shubham Ranjane to Louren Steenkamp, On a length, a touch wide outside off, Louren Steenkamp throws his hands at it and punches it through the covers. The batters take the single and then take one on the throw. They are struggling but a weak throw to the keeper assists them. 88 more needed from 46 balls.

Shubham Ranjane to Gerhard Erasmus, Shubham Ranjane is given the ball, as USA employ their 7th bowler. Full and outside off, Gerhard Erasmus waits for the ball to arrive and gently opens the face of the bat to guide it towards deep third for a single.

Harmeet Singh to Louren Steenkamp, On middle and leg, nudged through mid-wicket for a couple.

Harmeet Singh to Louren Steenkamp, FOUR! Bad line. Full and down the leg side, Louren Steenkamp gets down and sweeps it behind square leg for a boundary. Harmeet berates himself after that ball.

Harmeet Singh to Louren Steenkamp, Ooohhh... beautifully bowled again. Very full, no pace to work with, 81.3 kph, very full, following the batter down the leg side, Steenkamp moves to the leg side to go inside out but chips it back to the bowler, aerially. It lands just short of Harmeet.

Harmeet Singh to Louren Steenkamp, Short and outside off, cut straight to backward point by Erasmus.

Harmeet Singh to Gerhard Erasmus, A touch short of full, outside off, 84.3 kph, Gerhard Erasmus goes back and guides it towards short third for a quick run.

Harmeet Singh to Louren Steenkamp, Harmeet Singh returns. 1-0-11-0 so far. Full, around off, very slow, 82.6 kph, Louren Steenkamp comes forward and drives it to long off to bring up a HALF CENTURY IN 33 BALLS! Been a wonderful knock, but he needs to bat deeper.

Saurabh Netravalkar to Louren Steenkamp, Full toss, around middle and leg, looking for the yorker, Louren Steenkamp eases this down to long on for a run. Just 4 runs from the over to go with a wicket as well. Saurabh Netravalkar's bowling figures read 2-0-14-1 so far.

Saurabh Netravalkar to Gerhard Erasmus, Outside off, pace off again, pushed towards cover for a single to get off the mark.

Saurabh Netravalkar to Gerhard Erasmus, Outside off, pushed towards point.

USA could not have started the second half of this second innings any better. In walks the captain of Namibia, Gerhard Erasmus, at number 4, replacing Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton.

Saurabh Netravalkar to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, OUT! CAUGHT! And the 45-run stand is broken. Fuller length, around the middle and leg stumps, with a clever change of pace, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton shuffles back and then attempts the reverse sweep. However, he is cramped for room. Hence, he cannot find any elevation and ends up hitting it straight to Shubham Ranjane at short third! Another batter gets a start and is dismissed. Namibia are 99/2 and need another 101 RUNS FROM 57 BALLS!

Saurabh Netravalkar to Louren Steenkamp, On a length, around middle and off, Louren Steenkamp goes back and nudges it through mid-wicket for a run.

Saurabh Netravalkar to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, A length ball, down the leg side, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton works it towards fine leg for a single.

Halfway mark reached. Namibia are 97/1, as compared to USA's 88/1. Remember, USA prodded along the middle overs, before launching at the death. Can Namibia overcome that phase and get ahead in the middle phase? Saurabh Netravalkar is back on. 1-0-10-0 so far.

Milind Kumar to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, A single to end but 11 runs come off it. Full and outside off, drilled to extra cover where the fielder makes a sharp stop. 103 needed now off 60 balls.

Milind Kumar to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, FOUR! He loves a reverse sweep, does Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton. On off, angling into the stumps, Loftie-Eaton hits the reverse sweep flat and over short third for another boundary.

Milind Kumar to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Flighted one on middle, Loftie-Eaton plays it back to the bowler.

Milind Kumar to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, FOUR! Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton throws caution to the wind again and picks up another boundary. Floated up at the stumps, Loftie-Eaton backs away and smacks it hard over cover-point for four runs.

Milind Kumar to Louren Steenkamp, Shortish length and outside off, Steenkamp taps it through cover-point for one more.

Milind Kumar to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Tossed up on middle and leg, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton skips down the pitch and mistimes the lofted shot down to long on for a single.

Harmeet Singh to Louren Steenkamp, SIX! CLOBBERED! Spoils Harmeet's over. Full, outside off, Louren Steenkamp gets down on a knee and sweeps it massively over mid-wicket! The stand moves to 32 (22) and Namibia need another 114 runs from 66 balls.

Harmeet Singh to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Full and outside leg, Jan brings out the reverse sweep and hits it through point for one more. 5 balls, 5 singles.

Harmeet Singh to Louren Steenkamp, Shorter in length, around middle and off, Steenkamp pulls it towards long on for another single.

Harmeet Singh to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Senses the batter jumping out, does Harmeet and bowls it flat, short and quick on leg stump. Nicol Loftie-Eaton comes down the track and pushes it through mid on for one.

Harmeet Singh to Louren Steenkamp, Full and around off, coming in, Louren Steenkamp hits it straight back to the bowler who gets across to his left but the ball goes through towards long off, allowing an easy run.

Harmeet Singh to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Harmeet Singh has been given the ball now, to bowl his left-arm spin. Full and down the leg side, from over the wicket, 95.2 kph, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton goes back and works it through square leg for a single.

Milind Kumar to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Loftie-Eaton backs away early and Kumar follows him with a full ball. This is forced down to long off for just a single.

Milind Kumar to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Good, positive running. Flatter and slanted into the pads, Loftie-Eaton tucks it down through the gap at mid-wicket and races back for the second run.

Milind Kumar to Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, FOUR! Top shot! Kumar comes around the wicket to the left-hander and floats it up on off. Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton backs away a fair bit and goes inside out over extra cover to get the boundary.

Milind Kumar to Louren Steenkamp, This is wider of the off stump, Steenkamp slams it to deep cover for just a single.

Milind Kumar to Louren Steenkamp, Fired in again, around off, Steenkamp jams it into the off side.

Milind Kumar to Louren Steenkamp, Flatter one, on a fullish length on off, played back to the bowler.