India vs Namibia Prediction: 9/2 Axar could love home comforts

Jamie Pacheco previews India v Namibia in Delhi on Thursday, February 12, 2026, with a start time of 13:30, as India look to build on what was a poor first-up performance but ultimately a winning one.   

Jamie is going with Delhi specialist Axar Patel for top bowler and can’t resist a nibble at Shivam Dube at a huge price...

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India vs Namibia Preview & Team News:

India  

There could have been three or four huge upsets in the first couple of days of the World Cup, and had the USA beaten India, it would have been the biggest of the lot; possibly the biggest upset of any T20 WC ever.  

Instead, the USA allowed Sky Yadav to get going, and 162 was always going to be an uphill task for them in the chase.  No-one other than Sky got going; a captain's knock of 84 off 49 if ever you've seen one.  

At least the bowlers were good.  Mohammad Siraj took 3-29, Arshdeep took 2-18 and Axar 2-24, all excellent numbers.  

Jasprit Bumrah didn't play but should be available here, as it was reportedly due to a fever rather than injury. Siraj can feel hard done by if he loses his place.  

Namibia

Namibia didn't score enough and their 156-8 was chased pretty comfortably by the Netherlands.  

Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton was good with 42 off 38, and there was a decent effort from JJ Sit with 22 off 15.   

David Wiese, who held the side together at the last WC, is no longer around, and it showed in their lack of both balance and star quality.   

Pitch and conditions 

The Arun Jaitley Stadium pitch in Delhi is usually seen as favourable for batters, with a flat, firm surface that allows free stroke-play and regularly produces high scores. Smallish boundaries and a fast outfield further make scoring relatively easy, so 170-175 is about average batting first.  

India will target at least 20 more than that if they bat first. There could be dew in the second innings.    

Match Winner odds. 

India are 1/100 for the second match running. They certainly weren't that price during their first innings in-play when in all sorts of trouble. Namibia are 20/1, but perhaps the chance of a massive upset has passed.   

India are unlikely to make those mistakes again, while the USA are arguably a better side than Namibia anyway. We obviously don't play.  

*You can bet on this match and check out all the live India vs Namibia Cricket Odds over on betfred.com

India Top Bowler  

Our strategy of going for two batting all-rounders last time out didn't pay off and we didn't exactly get a run for our money when Shivam Dube didn't bowl at all.  

Siraj won the betting heat last time out, but we're changing strategy anyway. Only five bowlers were used, so it's not worth looking beyond those this time. And we think it will be either Siraj or Bumrah playing, not both.   

Axar Patel gets the nod for us for several reasons. He was one of those five, he knows this wicket very well from playing here for the Delhi Capitals in the IPL year after year, and he's the second-biggest price of the five (Pandya is 6/1) at 9/2. He was also pretty good the other day. Good reasons.  

India Top Batsman  

The obvious theory here is that one of India's top three are the only ones to look at because the others might not get a go.  

The less obvious one is that the Top 3 may go hell for leather from ball one and get out. Or that Sky decides he doesn't need to bat in his usual place and that someone else could do with some practice up the order. Like Dube, who's not a 14/1 shot in any circumstances. Minimum stakes, though.    

Jamie Pacheco Cricket P/L 2025: 

• Points Staked: 146 
• Points Returned: 151.7  
• Final P/L: +5.7pts  

Jamie Pacheco Cricket P/L 2026:   

• Points Staked: 18.25 
• Points Returned: 23.20 
• Current P/L: +4.95 

Jamie Pacheco predominantly covers Cricket and European Football for us at Betfred Insights. You can check out his Cricket Betting Tips, along with those from the rest of the team, at our Cricket hub page...  

Top Price

Available 09:00 04/02 – 05:30 07/02. Top Price/Joint Top Price all teams to win T20 WC with selected bookmakers using Oddschecker for comparison. Max Stakes Vary. Prices may fluctuate. T&Cs Apply.

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