India won the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 comfortably and will next play Pakistan. On February 12, the co-hosts of the tournament defeated Namibia by 93 points.

After the match, Indian team captain Suryakumar Yadav praised the children for their commendable performance. Yadav specifically praised Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan for their storming batting at the start of the first innings.

Sanju Samson replaces Abhishek Sharma

India batted first at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi with openers Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson. Abhishek Sharma missed the match due to stomach discomfort. Samson replaces Sharma in the lineup. Kishan and Samson’s start worked very well for the Men in Blue and they got the team off to a good start.

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While Samson was dismissed with a brief but blistering 22 runs for 8, Ishan Kishan continued his momentum with an innings of 61 off 24 balls. Hardik Pandya in the middle row also joined in the run-making feat, scoring 52 quick runs. Tilak Varma (25) and Shivam Dube (23) also left their mark with the bat.

Suryakumar Yadav praises Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan

During the post-match presentation ceremony, Suryakumar Yadav said that the wicket was not easy enough to hit the ball perfectly and the ball did not reach the bat smoothly. The total number of board members is 209, mainly because of the recurring partnerships between Samson and Kishan, and Pandya and Dube.

“I thought it was not an easy wicket to bat, but the way Ishan and Sanju started, it did look like an easy wicket. And then the partnership between Shivam and Hardik, the way they batted after losing two or three quick wickets, I think that’s very commendable,” the India skipper said.

Namibia scored just 116 runs for all 10 wickets in 18.2 overs. Yadav appreciated the bowlers’ efforts in limiting the opposing team’s total. Jasprit Bumrah returned to action throughout the match, taking one wicket in a 4-over spell with an economy rate of 5.00.

Jasprit Bumrah to play against Pakistan

Suryakumar Yadav said he was happy to see Bumrah completing all four overs of his quota and confirmed that the pacer will also be in the squad for the next game.

“It’s a big plus to see Bumrah getting a spot in all four rounds. It’s great to have him back in the team. He’s ready for the next game as well,” assured Yadav.

Before concluding the briefing, the Indian captain praised the bowling performance of the Namibia team, which took 9 wickets.

“Their bowling was very good. I thought they performed very well. They had a plan and they executed it very well, but I was also impressed with their bowling,” Suryakumar Yadav said.

Read more: WATCH: Gary Kirsten can’t stop smiling as Sanju Samson falls into Namibia trap