India on Thursday smashed Namibia for a whopping 209 in their second group stage game of the T20 World Cup, which was their 47th 200-plus score in the shortest format.
The 93-run margin, India’s biggest
in a T20 World Cup, does not tell the full story. Little-known Namibian captain Gerhard Erasmus emerged as a surprise package, returning 4/20 to restrict India to 209/9, even as Ishan Kishan blazed 61 off 24 deliveries and Hardik Pandya struck a 28-ball 52.
Sanju Samson’s three-sixes knock was akin to a short-lived Instagram reel, but Kishan’s batting was a gripping web series, full of drama, action and anticipation.
Kishan powered five sixes and six boundaries en route to a blistering 20-ball half-century, laying the platform for a marauding Pandya (52 off 28) to propel India to a total that always seemed out of reach for the Namibian batting line-up.
It was a flat Kotla pitch, but Samson (22 off 8) and captain Suryakumar Yadav, who managed a run-a-ball 12, couldn’t capitalise as the African team clawed their way back into the contest with a tidy middle-overs spell.
Despite a few minor stumbles, India piled up an imposing 209. In doing so, they stretched their tally of 200-plus totals in men’s T20Is to 47, the most by any team. South Africa are next with 29 such scores, followed by New Zealand, while Australia and West Indies share fourth spot with 25 apiece.
India’s recent run-scoring surge has been even more striking. Since the 2024 T20 World Cup, they have notched up 14 totals of 200 or more in T20Is, twice as many as any other team in that period.
India’s penchant for breaching the 200-run mark has also been a recurring theme in T20 World Cup history. Their standout totals include 218/4 against England in Durban in 2007, 210/2 versus Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi in 2021, 205/5 against Australia in Gros Islet in 2024 and now 209/9 against Namibia in Delhi in 2026.
