Monank Patel chose to take the first stab at the pristine batting conditions in the afternoon fixture in Chennai, earned a reprieve in the first over and went on to set the tone in the PowerPlay. He laid into JJ Smit in the sixth over for a 19-run over, contributing 41 off 21 in USA’s PowerPlay tally of 65/0. Namibia once again turned to spin for revival, and leggie Willem Myburgh provided it in the seventh over with the wicket of Shayan Jehangir. Monank, who got to a 27-ball half-century, holed out against the same bowler in the 11th over. USA endured a slow down in this period but Monank’s exit brought Sanjay Krishnamurthi to the middle, who gave his side another swift lift. Gerhard Erasmus was once again his team’s man with the golden arm, taking out Saiteja Mukkamalla in his first over.
