Zimbabwe defeated Namibia by five wickets in their second match of the T20 series in Bulawayo as they continued with their preparations for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Regional Final 2025.
Yesterday the hosts did huff and puff a bit, but went over the line with aplomb in the end.
Ryan Burl had to pull out a timely cameo after the openers set it up.
Brian Bennett got a quickfire 40 and Marumani scored his third consecutive T20I 50 for Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe lost a few wickets in the middle, but Burl showed his class and Tashinga Musekiwa came out to put the finishing touches.
Namibia would have loved a few runs more with the bat as 170 never looked enough on a flat track.
The hosts amassed more than 200 in the first game and that seemed to be the norm yesterday as well.
Zimbabwe took the series 2-0 with a game to spare. The hosts would be chuffed with their current form while Namibia went back and look to bounce back in the final game of the series tomorrow.
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Both Zimbabwe and Namibia are using the matches as vital preparation for the regional final event in Harare between September 26 and October 4.
A total of eight teams will battle it out in the regional event, with the two finishers earning a place at next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Zimbabwe dominated the first match of the series in some brutal fashion.
After being sent in to bat, Zimbabwe’s batters piled on the runs as they reached a huge 211 for three wickets off their 20 overs.
Namibia briefly managed to match the run rate, but when they lost two wickets in quick succession their challenge faded as they were restricted to 178/7, still 33 runs short of the target.
Zimbabwe openers Bennett and Marumani gave the home side a great start with a century partnership for the first wicket.
They raced to 100 off 11,5 overs, and when Marumani was the first to go, dismissed for 62 off Alex Volschenk’s bowling, the total stood at 124 off 14,1 overs. Bennett was dismissed for a top score of 94 off 51 balls (8×4, 4×6), while Ryan Burl added a rapid 22 off nine balls and Sikandar Raza 23 not out off 11 as they set Namibia a huge victory target. In reply, Namibia lost Malan Kruger early on for 13, but Nicol Loftie-Eaton joined Jan Frylinck to revive Namibia’s hopes with a swashbuckling innings.
Namibia, however, suffered a double blow when they were both dismissed within six balls, with Frylinck out for 21, and Loftie-Eaton for 38 off 24 balls (8×4), with the total at 74/3.
Gerhard Erasmus and Zane Green gave Namibia hope with a 44-run partnership but they could not maintain the required run rate as Zimbabwe’s bowlers tightened their grip with regular wickets.
Erasmus was dismissed for 26, Green for 33, and Ruben Trumpelmann for 20, while Dylan Leicher remained 11 not out as they fell 33 runs short of the target.
Despite the defeat, Namibia’s top order batters, and especially Loftie-Eaton took on Zimbabwe’s bowlers, although Namibia’s bowlers all suffered against Zimbabwe’s batters.
