ICC Men’s T20 WC 2026 | Match 26: United States of America vs Namibia| Preview and Predictions

The USA will take on Namibia in their last group stage fixture at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on 15th Feb 2026. 

Here, we present our preview and predictions for the game.

ICC Men’s T20 WC 2026 Group A | Match 26: USA vs NAM| 15:00 IST, February 15, 2026

USA registered their first win on the board against Netherlands in this T20 World Cup campaign in an emphatic manner. After two consecutive defeats against India and Pakistan, this was crucial to their chances for the Super 8 however improbable they may seem. As for Namibia, they may be out of the World Cup but would like to end the campaign on a high with at least a win  under their belt. 

In their last match against Netherlands, USA batted first and put up a huge total of 196/6 with their top order coming good. Captain Monank Patel gave them a heady start followed by Saiteja Mukkammala and Shubham Ranjane guiding them to a big total. 

In response, the Netherlands batting collapsed under the scoreboard pressure and got bundled out for a disappointing 103 in 15.5 overs, losing the match by a massive 93 runs. Harmeet Singh and Shadley van Shalwyk were the top performers with the ball for the USA, taking a majority of the Dutch wickets. Everyone expected Netherlands to compete well after their performance against Pakistan but the Dutch failed to give a tough fight to the Americans. 

Namibia played India in their last group stage encounter. India batted first with Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson giving them a flying start, scoring the fastest team 100 in the tournament. However, the Namibian spin bowlers Gerhard Erasmus and Bernard Scholtz halted the Indian juggernaut with some wily spin bowling, taking regular wickets and bowled particularly well in the death overs to limit India to 209/9. This was still a big total but far less than what was expected when Ishan Kishan was going all guns blazing. 

Namibia started well with the bat and amassed 60+ runs in their powerplay with the loss of just one wicket but the introduction of Varun Chakaravarthy, Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah changed the complexion of the game. The Indian bowlers’ quality proved to be too much for the inexperienced Namibian batters. They started to lose wickets in a heap and what promised to be a great fight to the finish ended in a whimper as they got bowled out for a paltry 116 in 18.2 overs. Namibia lost the match by 93 runs against one of the favourites of the tournament but definitely impressed with their bowling efforts. 

This is a must win match for the USA if they want to have any chance of qualifying. However, that would require complex permutations and combinations to work in their favour which seems highly unlikely at the moment. Depending on their experience and quality, USA definitely have the upper hand but the Namibian slow bowlers could come into play at the Chepauk, hence the American batters need to be mindful of that. 

The Chennai wicket is generally a slow one where freely scoring runs is a challenging task, hence it would be helpful to bat first, set a par target for the opposition and try to defend it. Shadley van Schalkwyk could prove to be key for the USA yet again as he leads the wicket taking charts with 11 wickets in three group games. With the spin-heavy bowling attack that USA possesses and their top order finally finding form, it would be difficult for Namibia to get the better of them. The Americans are more likely to stay in the Super 8 race with a win in this one. 

Fantasy XI: Monank Patel (wk), Jan Frylinck, Saiteja Mukkamalla, Nicol Loftie-Eaton, Gerhard Erasmus (c), Shubham Ranjane, Milind Kumar, Harmeet Singh, Shadley van Schalkwyk, Bernard Scholtz, Ruben Trumpelmann.

Venue: M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai 

Winner’s Prediction: USA