India made light work of chasing down a modest Namibian total to begin their ICC Under-19 World Cup campaign with a nine-wicket victory on Monday.
Ravikant Shukla's side bowled the Africans out for 170 and then knocked off the required runs for the loss of just opener Gaurav Dhiman, but only after he had hammered 90 from just 70 balls.
It was left to Cheteshwar Pujara (66 not out) and Rohit Sharma (10 not out) to seal the win, which arrived with a massive 22.5 overs in hand.
It was a crushing victory for the pre-tournament favourites, but Namibia could still be proud of the part they played in the day's proceedings; in no way were they embarrassed by their opponents.
David Botha scored 61, an innings that was spread over 130 minutes and included six fours from 111 balls faced. His effort was the glue that held his side's innings together.
Botha and Henno Prinsloo helped Namibia recover from a shaky start when they were reduced to 44-3 by a combination of pace and spin.
They added 76 in 17 overs in which they looked comfortable but rarely threatened to dominate a balanced Indian attack with seven bowlers used during the course of the innings.
Prinsloo's eventual dismissal, run out for 28, just as Namibia were looking to lift the tempo, was the start of a mini-collapse that saw three wickets fall for the addition of only four runs in three overs.
But capitulation was averted by captain S.T.Ackermann, who made 16 batting at number eight.
The pick of India's attack was leg-spinner Piyush Chawla. He only arrived for the tournament on Saturday after helping Uttar Pradesh to their first Ranji Trophy title and he soon showed why he had been held back to play in that match before joining the squad in Sri Lanka
Chawla dismissed opener Keady Strauss, caught and bowled for seven and then had Pieter Grove (3) caught at slip by captain Ravikant Shukla.
He finished as India's most successful bowler with 3 for 38, but seamer Abu Nechim Ahmed could be pleased with his effort after conceding only 22 runs from 10 overs and also taking the wicket of Botha.
India's coach Venkatesh Prasad said that although his side's victory was convincing they still have plenty to improve upon.
"We need to work on our fielding and make sure we are following the basics," he said.
"We had a couple of overthrows and as the tournament goes on every run will be important.
"It is also all about being disciplined and we bowled 10 wides and 1 no-ball today. That meant we ended up bowling almost 52 overs."
Andy Waller, the Namibia coach, said his side's performance indicated the progress they are making.
"If you compare that to a few months ago there is no comparison," he said. "Back then we struggled to make 130 against Uganda and now we have made 170 against India.
"We threw it away really because at 120-3 we had the chance of making 200 but still, to get 170, makes me very proud of the boys."
Namibia did spring one surprise during the day by starting off with eight fielders on the off-side in an attempt to impose some discipline on proceedings but Dhiman was having none of that and still thrashed boundaries despite that restrictive tactic.
"We have been thinking how we can surprise India or Sri Lanka and we looked at the statistics that indicated it was worth a try as we have not conceded many runs through the leg-side in the practice matches," said Waller.
"The plan did not work as he (Dhiman) wanted width anyway but I think we will try it again and maybe it will surprise Sri Lanka," he added.
India and Namibia are joined in Group C by hosts Sri Lanka and Scotland, who faced each other on Sunday with Sri Lanka winning by four wickets.
Namibia's next match is against the hosts on Tuesday while India plays Scotland on Wednesday.
