Namibia have broken into record books in cricket as they defeatedSouth Africa by four wickets in the men's T20I game played at the Namibia Cricket Ground (NCG) in Windhoek, the first win of its kind. At
the toss, South Africa captain Donovan Ferreira emerged victorious and elected to bat first. The Protea faced a double blow when they lost Quinton de Kock (one off four) and Reeza Hendricks (seven off nine) in the powerplay
After losing both top-order batters, Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Rubin Hermann built a 30-run stand off 24 balls. Ruben Trumpelmann stepped up and got rid of Rubin Hermann, who got caught at the hands of Ben Shikongo. Pretorius also departed after scoring 22 off 22. Captain Ferreira also fell against Max Heingo after scoring only four off two. Jason Smith’s 31 off 30 Bjorn Fortuin’s 19* (21 helped the Protea side to cross the 100-run mark.
Gerald Coetzee also played a fierce cameo knock of 12 off six to help South Africa post a total of 134/8 in 20 overs, well below the competitive number in a T20I game. Trumpelmann took 3/28 in four overs and emerged as the most effective bowler in the match.
Namibia chased down the target in the last-ball thriller
Pursuing the 135-run target, Namibia lost their top-order batters Jan Frylinck (seven off five) and Nicol Loftie-Eaton (seven off 11) early. After 10 overs of the innings, Namibia saw themselves under pressure as they lost four wickets after scoring 66 runs. JJ Smit also departed after scoring 13 off 14.
With 35 required off 21, wicket-keeper batter Zane Green and Trumpelmann stepped up and built an unbeaten 37-runs stand to take Namibia home by four wickets. The home side completed the chase on the final delivery of the contest. Green scored 30* (23) while Trumpelmann also amassed unbeaten 11 runs after facing eight balls. Trumpelmann’s all-round effort also got him the player of the match (POTM) award.
