Kaverappa and Bopanna star with the ball as Karnataka thrash Namibia by 9 wickets

Vidwath Kaverappa (4/16) and off-spinner Rishi Bopanna (3/34) picked up seven wickets between them as the Ravikumar Samarth-led Karnataka side thrashed Namibia by 9 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the the five-match 50-over series in Windhoek.

Karnataka won the toss and elected to bowl, and wickets fell at regular intervals as Namibia were bundled out for 171. Kaverappa provided the first breakthrough by sending Nikolaas Davin back to the pavilion for 1, and the Punjab Kings man struck again three overs later to dismiss Michael van Lingen for 5. 

Skipper Gerhard Erasmus (31) and opener Shaun Fouché (24) did a mini-rebuild, as they added 41 for the third wicket, but Vyshak knocked Fouché over to peg Namibia back. 

It was the Kaverappa and Bopanna show after that as the duo picked up 5 of the next 7 wickets to fall to bowl Namibia out for 171. Jan Frylinck top scored for the hosts with a brisk 57.

172 was always going to be a pretty straightforward chase, and Karnataka did not slip up as they knocked the total off with 14.1 overs to spare. LR Chethan fell for 37 after getting a start, but skipper Samarth (78*) and Nikin Jose (56*) struck fifties to seal a nine-wicket victory for the visitors. 

The second encounter of the series will be played on Sunday, June 4.