Zimbabwe all-rounder Brad Evans entered his name in the record books on Sunday (September 6) by becoming the first player from a Test-playing nation to score a half-century while batting at No. 6 or lower in the final of a T20I series or tournament.
Evans walked out to bat at No. 8 for Zimbabwe in the final of the Namibia T20I tri-series against South Africa in Windhoek on Sunday and played an unbeaten knock of 56 runs off 31 balls.
He smashed four fours and as many sixes for the Sikandar Raza-led side, but his effort went in vain as Zimbabwe suffered a 48-run defeat after managing to score only 157 runs in reply to South Africa’s target of 206.
Before Evans, a total of nine batters had scored half-centuries while batting at No. 6 or lower in the
final of a T20I series or tournament, but none of them represented a Test-playing nation.
The record for the highest score by a No. 6 or lower batter in a T20I series final is held by Nepal’s Basir Ahamad. He scored 80 runs for Nepal against Kuwait in the final of the Quadrangular Twenty20 Series in Mong Kok, Hong Kong, on April 13, 2025.
Highest scores by No. 6 or lower batter in T20I series final
| PLAYER | COUNTRY | RUNS | BALLS | 4s | 6s | AGAINST | VENUE | DATE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basir Ahamad | Nepal | 80 | 43 | 8 | 4 | Kuwait | Mong Kok | April 13, 2025 |
| Tamoor Sajjad | Qatar | 68 | 38 | 5 | 3 | Saudi Arabia | Al Amerat | January 24, 2019 |
| Varun Thamotharam | Malta | 62 | 32 | 7 | 2 | Romania | Ilfov County | August 20, 2023 |
| Nicolaj Laegsgaard | Denmark | 62 | 35 | 2 | 6 | Guernsey | Castel | August 28, 2024 |
| Jaskaran Singh | Canada | 60* | 26 | 5 | 4 | USA | George Town | April 27, 2025 |
| Brad Evans | Zimbabwe | 56* | 31 | 4 | 4 | South Africa | Windhoek | September 6, 2026 |
| Kamran Ahmadzai | France | 56 | 32 | 6 | 2 | Belgium | Dreux | May 12, 2024 |
| Zada Sher | France | 55 | 35 | 2 | 4 | Portugal | Albergaria | April 9, 2026 |
| David Uwimana | Rwanda | 54* | 24 | 2 | 6 | Zambia | Blantyre | August 16, 2026 |
| Gulsan Jha | Nepal | 54 | 25 | 5 | 4 | Oman | Kirtipur | November 5, 2023 |
| Pratik Athavale | Oman | 49 | 30 | 4 | 3 | UAE | Al Amerat | April 21, 2024 |
Evans, who also picked up two wickets for 36 runs in four overs on Sunday, added 52 runs off 28 balls for the ninth wicket with Kundai Matigimu, who scored 19 runs off 11 balls.
Their partnership is the first 50-run stand for the eighth or lower wicket between two players from a Test-playing nation in the final of a T20I series or tournament. They broke the previous record held by New Zealand’s Ross Taylor and Ish Sodhi, who added 38 runs for the ninth wicket in the final of the Trans-Tasman Twenty20 Tri-Series against Australia in Auckland on February 21, 2018.
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