Bas de Leede led the way with an unbeaten half-century as the Netherlands cruised to a seven-wicket victory over Namibia, registering their opening triumph in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at Arun Jaitley Stadium on Tuesday.
Chasing Namibia’s target of 157, the Netherlands finished at 159-3 in 18 overs. De Leede top-scored with a brilliant 72 off 48 balls, including five fours and four sixes.
Opener Michael Levitt played a crucial knock of 28 off 15 balls, featuring one four and three sixes.
Colin Ackermann added a valuable 32 off 28 deliveries, while skipper Scott Edwards remained unbeaten on 18 from nine balls, hitting a four and a six.
Batting first, Namibia got off to a shaky start as spinner Aryan Dutt claimed the prized wicket of Louren Steenkamp, who managed just six runs off as many balls, including one boundary.
Jan Frylinck and Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton steadied the innings, building a 50-run stand for the second wicket.
The partnership was broken when Frylinck fell to Logan van Beek for a crucial 30 off 26 deliveries, which included three fours and one six, leaving Namibia at 60-2 in 9.1 overs.
Loftie-Eaton continued to anchor the innings, receiving support from skipper Gerhard Erasmus. The pair added 35 runs before Erasmus was dismissed by Bas de Leede in his first over, scoring 18 off nine balls, including two fours and one six.
Loftie-Eaton remained in good form but fell short of a T20I fifty, finishing on 42 off 38 deliveries with one four and two sixes, as Namibia slipped to 107-4 in 14.3 overs.
Later, JJ Smit contributed a quickfire 22 off 15 balls, including one boundary and two sixes, before falling to Bas de Leede, who claimed his second wicket of the match.
Fred Klaassen also fell for nine off 10 deliveries to leave Namibia struggling at 137-6 in the 18th over.
Ruben Trumpelmann briefly lifted the score with a six off his first delivery but was eventually run out after a mix-up, finishing with nine off eight balls.
Namibia managed eight runs in the final over to reach a defendable total.
For the Netherlands, Bas de Leede and Logan van Beek took two wickets each, while Aryan Dutt and Fred Klaassen claimed one wicket apiece.
Playing XI
Namibia: Lourens Steenkamp, Jan Frylinck, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (c), JJ Smit, Zane Green (wk), Dylan Leicher, Ruben Trumpelmann, Willem Myburgh, Bernard Scholtz, Max Heingo.
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (c/wk), Zach Lion-Cachet, Logan van Beek, Aryan Dutt, Roelof van der Merwe, Timm van der Gugten, Fred Klaassen.
