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Brad Evans took 3 for 41 and made an unbeaten 37 as Zimbabwe beat Namibia by five runs at Windhoek to record their first win of the T20I tri-series. Ryan Burl’s 57 not out from 32 balls and a 94-run stand with Evans lifted Zimbabwe from 101 for 6 to 195 for 6. Namibia were 76 for 6 in reply before Zane Green and Alexander Busing-Volschenk added 110, only for the hosts to lose four wickets in the final five balls and be bowled out for 190.
Windhoek, Namibia: Namibia needed 16 from the last over with four wickets in hand on Monday. They lost all four of them.
Two sides collapsed in this match and both recovered. Zimbabwe were 79 for 5 and made 195. Namibia were 76 for 6 and made 190. The difference was five runs and the last five deliveries.
From 101 for 6
Gerhard Erasmus put Zimbabwe in, and for six overs it looked wrong. Ben Curran and Brian Bennett put on 64 before Bennett top-edged a pull off JJ Smit to deep midwicket on the final ball of the powerplay, out for 32 from 21.
Then it turned. Bernard Scholtz beat Dion Myers with one that turned sharply to take the top of off. Erasmus had Sikandar Raza first ball. Curran drove hard at Max Heingo, got a thick outside edge and was caught by Jack Brassell for 38 from 22, and Erasmus removed Wessly Madhevere: four wickets for 15 runs and Zimbabwe 79 for 5. Tadiwanashe Marumani made 18 before falling at 101.
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Ryan Burl and Brad Evans then added 94 in 48 balls without being parted. Namibia went back to spin for the final over and Burl took 20 from it, a six and three consecutive fours off Erasmus, to finish on 57 not out from 32. Erasmus had 3 for 46 from his four.
Green and Volschenk
Namibia’s reply began worse than Zimbabwe’s had. Blessing Muzarabani had Louren Steenkamp in the third over, Evans removed Erasmus for 12, and after Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton’s brisk 20 from 13 Bennett struck twice in three balls to make it 66 for 4. Jan Frylinck went for 22, Ruben Trumpelmann to Raza, and at 76 for 6 in the 12th over the chase was over.
Zane Green and Alexander Busing-Volschenk did not accept that. Busing-Volschenk went after Wellington Masakadza for two sixes in the 13th over and the pair simply kept finding the boundary — 110 runs in 49 balls for the seventh wicket, taking Namibia from 76 for 6 to 186 for 6 with four balls left.
Green made 54 from 26. Busing-Volschenk made 56 from 29.
Four Wickets in Five Balls
Evans had the last over and began it with a no-ball. Then Green was run out by a direct throw from the deep. Two balls later Busing-Volschenk edged behind, Marumani flinging himself to hold it. Scholtz was run out without scoring, and Jack Brassell dragged a loose drive back onto his stumps off the final ball of the match.
Four wickets in five deliveries, two of them run-outs, and Namibia were all out for 190 with the innings’ last ball. Evans finished with 3 for 41 and the Player of the Match award; Bennett’s two wickets cost eight runs.
Everyone on Two Points
The result leaves the series exactly level. All three teams have played twice, won once and lost once: Namibia beat South Africa on the opening day, South Africa beat Zimbabwe on Saturday, and Zimbabwe have now beaten Namibia.
Zimbabwe, who had been the only side without a point, face South Africa again today. Namibia play Zimbabwe on Thursday and South Africa on Friday, with the final on 6 September.
Result: Zimbabwe beat Namibia by five runs
Zimbabwe 195/6 (20 overs) — Ryan Burl 57* (32), Ben Curran 38 (22), Brad Evans 37*, Brian Bennett 32 (21); Gerhard Erasmus 3-46, Bernard Scholtz 1-27, JJ Smit 1-27, Max Heingo 1-25
Namibia 190 all out (20 overs, target 196) — Alexander Busing-Volschenk 56 (29), Zane Green 54 (26), Jan Frylinck 22, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton 20; Brad Evans 3-41, Brian Bennett 2-8
Player of the Match: Brad Evans (Zimbabwe)
Venue: Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek
