GEELONG, Australia (Reuters) – Sri Lanka’s T20 World Cup campaign suffered a disastrous start on Sunday as the former champions crashed to a 55-run loss against plucky Namibia in Geelong.
Arriving as surprise Asia Cup champions, Sri Lanka had hoped to make an early statement against the African associate side in front of thousands of expectant supporters on a sun-bathed afternoon at Kardinia Park.
Instead, it was Namibia soaking up their finest international win a year after storming into the Super 12’s at the last World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Bowled out for 108 after chasing 164 for victory, the 2014 champions Sri Lanka can afford no slip-ups in their following qualifying matches against United Arab Emirates on Tuesday and the Netherlands on Thursday.
(This story has been refiled to say Asia Cup, rather than Asian Cup, in paragraph 2)
(Reporting by Ian Ransom in Geelong, Australia; Editing by Michael Perry)
