ZIMBABWE beat Namibia by five wickets at Queens Sports Club on Tuesday to take the T20I series 2-0.
Namibia started well with the bat. Malan Kruger scored 45, Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton hit 47 from 30 balls, and captain Gerhard Erasmus added 37. At 130 for two in the 16th over, they looked set for a big total. But Zimbabwe’s bowlers pulled things back. Richard Ngarava took two wickets for 25, while Brad Evans also took two. Namibia lost momentum and finished on 169 for six.
Zimbabwe’s chase was built on a flying start. Brian Bennett smashed 40 from just 20 balls, and Tadiwanashe Marumani made 50 from 36. They shared 59 runs in the powerplay, giving Zimbabwe control. Brendan Taylor chipped in with 29 before being run out, and captain Sikandar Raza fell for three.
Even with those setbacks, Ryan Burl stayed calm with 24 not out from 13 balls. With support from Tashinga Musekiwa, who struck nine from four, Zimbabwe reached 170 for five in 18.1 overs.
Namibia’s Johannes Smit took two wickets, while Ruben Trumpelmann and Bernard Scholtz picked up one each. But their bowlers could not stop Zimbabwe from finishing the chase with 11 balls to spare.
