Heading into the final match of these African qualifiers, it was one of the more intense games between two teams who were fighting for pride after already having qualified for their T20 World Cup. With Zimbabwe having come out victorious by 7 wickets, this was a dominant bowling and batting performance by them, as they officially end this qualifier with a 5-0 record, plus also being able to hold up the trophy.
A group that has been able to find pride in themselves once again after being eliminated last time out, it will be a side no one wants to face in the upcoming T20I world tournament. Captain Sikandar Raza has continued leading this side with great ability and should once again pride himself on excellent skill, plus leadership.
Seeing that Namibia also came super close after winning the qualifiers last time out, they will be a threat against almost any team as well. Despite not having the cup come on their side this time, it was against one of the top cricketing nations in Zimbabwe, and this Eagles side has shown consistent improvement to compete with these test-playing nations.
In a match where it felt like their bowling slowed down a little at the end, they still made it extremely competitve by giving their best effort and nearly taking a 2nd upset of Zimbabwe in almost three weeks. Gerhard Erasmus once again led this with great flair and an understanding for where all his fielders should line up.
Namibia: Solid First Innings Was Led By Some Great Batting Pieces All-Around
Look at Namibia’s batting performance today, they were able to put together another reasonable score and show the type of depth their side had in batting. After losing opener Jan Frylinck in the first over for 5 runs with one four, a lot of the early pressure went on Malan Kruger to create a strong partnership later on. While he did score a combined 14 runs with Nicol Loftie-Eaton, the one-down batsmen departed for 13 runs on 9 deliveries after hitting two top-class boundaries.
Meanwhile, Kruger kept on going and had a defensive approach that helped him take this side to 50 alongside Louren Steenkamp. Since Ryan Burl bowled an absolute beauty right at Kruger’s legs, they lost their 3rd wicket at 55 runs, and now were down to Gerhard Erasmus.
Seeing that Steenkamp and Erasmus continued their way with quick-fire boundaries plus quick running between the wickets, these two scored 44 combined runs and nearly got their side to a 100. As Steenkamp was the next to leave after scoring 40 runs, it was a very controlled attack in which he hit four boundaries and had a 150 strike rate.
Erasmus also scored 38 of his own and created a 40-run partnership with JJ Smit later on as his two massive sixes plus two solid fours really helped this piece get them near that 140 mark. Knowing that Smit had two sixes by himself, Ruben Trumpelmann was able to provide two solid boundaries before Namibia’s innings ended at 167/6.
Zimbabwe: Another Strong Performance By This Loaded Bowling Attack
For Zimbabwe, their bowlers really made a big difference today and showed what potential they have moving forward against some top teams. Left-handed pacer Richard Ngarava had another big day with three massive wickets, including those of Gerhard Erasmus and Nicol-Loftie Eaton, while not being expensive at all either. Someone who was only allowing 6.5 runs per over, he bowled a full quota and show what type of pace he has to create a massive wicket-taking threat. On the other side, Blessing Muzarabani didn’t have a wicket to show for today, but he was another bowler who didn’t seem to get smacked around pretty easily after showing full-length deliveries.
Known to be a bouncer threat, it was proven throughout his deliveries in this match as he seemed super close to getting a few batsmen out. Brad Evans ended up being a bit expensive from the right side today in his three overs, but still was able to get a wicket on the board and wasn’t expensive in his later overs.
The biggest story of today was spinner Wellington Masakadza, as he returned to form and finally took a wicket, while just allowing 5.5 runs in every over. Seeing that he really got the ball to turn, it was huge for this side since Sikandar Raza was getting beaten up pretty badly on the other side with an economy that ended at 10.0 runs.
Zimbabwe: Top-Order Helps This Side In A Vital Run Chase During The Finals
Today was another day in which the Chevrons’ top pieces dominated and were able to score with ease to help them come out in clutch situations. As opener Brian Bennett had somewhat of a fiery start today, it was little off as he managed to get out at 15 runs after hitting two top-class boundaries. Having a strike rate that crossed the 135 mark, he was batting pretty fast until getting out at 29 in a partnership that looked dangerous with Tadiwanashe Muramani. Talking about Marumani, he hit yet another half-century and seemed very controlled in his attack, while ending up creating a massive duo with Dion Myers that created over 85 combined runs.
Knowing that Myers was closing in on a 50+ score too, he unfortunately ended up getting out at 44 of 33 deliveries and was sent back after getting clean-bowled by Bernard Scholtz. Someone who also created a couple key boundaries, seeing Sikandar Raza going right after him in one ball caused a little more tension on Marumani.
With Ryan Burl entering as another left-handed piece, he was key down the end of their innings as he scored 26 runs of 12 balls, while also adding four boundaries with most of them coming in that last over. Creating a 54-run partnership to finish it off, Marumani was their leading scorer with a 74 not-out knock that included 5 total boundaries.
Namibia: Bowlers Had A Tough Day Towards This Match’s Ending
Looking at this bowling attack, Namibia have shown a lot of strength today, but also matched it with a few overs towards the end that they will completely forget about. Fast-bowler Bernard Scholtz had a massive four overs with 21 runs allowed, while he also picked up two wickets with an economy under 5.5. Seeing that Ben Shikongo was also very economical during the three overs he had, this was another piece that picked up a wicket.
Now going on to their tougher side, Ruben Trumpelmann had a day to forget with 3.1 overs bowled and allowing well over 13 in each one, while also having an extremely rough last over that lost them this match. With JJ Smit also having such a high economy nearing 10, Gerhard Erasmus couldn’t show much of a threat either in his two overs.
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