T20 WC: Pakistan face Namibia in bid for Super 8s
What's the story
Former champions Pakistan will face Namibia in their last league match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. The match will be played at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club on Wednesday. After a crushing defeat against India, Pakistan's batting line-up has come under scrutiny. They are now looking to bounce back and secure a spot in the Super 8s with a win over Namibia. Meanwhile, Namibia have been eliminated with defeats in all their three matches.
Current scenario
USA slightly ahead of Pakistan
In Group A, India have already secured its Super 8s berth with wins in all their three games. The second spot is up for grabs with the United States slightly ahead of Pakistan on Net Run Rate (NRR). Both teams have four points each but Pakistan trail behind with a negative NRR of -0.403 while the USA sit comfortably at 0.788. As USA have played all their four games, Pakistan's fate is still in their hands.
Game plan
Batting line-up under scrutiny
Pakistan's equation is simple: win against Namibia and secure a Super 8s spot. While even a wash-out will power them through, a defeat will officially end their campaign. The focus will be on their batting line-up, including Babar Azam, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, and skipper Salman Ali Agha. They all had a disappointing outing in the loss to India in Colombo. Babar particularly has been under pressure after his seven-ball five against India with calls for his exclusion growing louder.
Match dynamics
Namibia have shown discipline and tactical awareness
Namibia, despite losing all three matches so far, have shown discipline and tactical awareness. Their captain Gerhard Erasmus's smart tactics were evident against India, where he claimed four wickets. Left-arm pacer JJ Smuts has also been a constant thorn for batters. Meanwhile, Namibia and Pakistan have faced each other only once before in T20Is, with Pakistan winning that match which took place in the 2021 T20 WC.
Details
Pitch report, conditions and streaming details
The Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo has hosted four matches so far in the ongoing World Cup. The average first-innings score is around 169, with spinners performing well at this venue. Teams batting first have won two games while teams chasing have also won two. Meanwhile, the match will start at 3:00pm IST and can be watched live on Star Sports Network and JioHotstar (App & Website).
Line-ups
Here are the probable XIs
Pakistan (Probable XI): Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Agha (c), Babar Azam, Usman Khan (wk), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq. Namibia (Probable XI): Louren Steenkamp, Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (c), JJ Smit, Zane Green (wk), Ruben Trumpelmann, Dylan Leicher, Willem Myburgh, Bernard Scholtz, Max Heingo.
Performers
Here are the key performers
Netherlands opening batter Louren Steenkamp has been in good form, having scored 58 against USA in his last outing. As mentioned, Erasmus took four wickets for just 20 runs against the mighty Indian batting line-up earlier in the tourney. Since the start of 2025, Mohammad Nawaz has taken 47 T20I wickets at a tremendous economy of 6.74. Salman Ali Agha has a strike rate of 163.54 while batting at three in T20Is.