Namibia pulled off a thrilling last-ball win over South Africa in the only T20I at Windhoek on Saturday. Ruben Trumpelmann shone with both ball and bat, taking 3 wickets for 28 runs and scoring 11 runs off 8 balls.
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| Image Source: BBC |
Zane Green stayed calm under pressure, scoring 30* off 23 balls. Chasing 135, Green hit a low full toss from Andile Simelane on the last ball to give Namibia a four-wicket win.
This was only the second time South Africa lost to an Associate nation in T20Is, after their defeat to the Netherlands at Adelaide in the 2022 World Cup.
South Africa batted first but lost Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks early. Lhuandre Pretorius and Rubin Hermann steadied the innings, adding 30 runs together. Hermann was dismissed by Trumpelmann, caught brilliantly at deep square leg.
More quick wickets followed, leaving South Africa at 68/5 in the 11th over. Jason Smith and the lower order tried to boost the score, but boundaries were hard to find on a tricky pitch. Bjorn Fortuin and Gerald Coetzee added useful late runs, helping South Africa reach 134/8 in 20 overs.
Namibia’s batting also had a slow start. The erratic bowling of some South African pacers, especially Gerald Coetzee who left the field with an injury, helped Namibia. When South Africa had taken three wickets, Namibia had already scored 51 runs in seven overs.
Middle-order batters Gerhard Erasmus, JJ Smit, and Jason Kruger gave stability to Namibia. With 28 runs needed in the last three overs, Green and Trumpelmann hit boundaries to reduce the target to 11 runs off the final over.
Green swung Simelane’s first ball of the last over for a six, shifting momentum. Simelane bowled full deliveries for the next four balls, leaving Namibia needing 1 run from the last ball. Attempting a yorker, he missed, and Green hit the low full toss for a boundary to win the match.
Brief Scores:
South Africa 134/8 in 20 overs (Jason Smith 31, Rubin Hermann 23; Ruben Trumpelmann 3-23, Max Heingo 2-32)
Namibia 138/6 in 20 overs (Gerhard Erasmus 31, Zane Green 30*; Nandre Burger 2-21, Andile Simelane 2-28) — Namibia won by 4 wickets