Zimbabwe survived a major scare from Namibia to clinch a five-game thriller wins In Windhoek, they recovered from 101/6 to 195/6 before holding their nerve in the final. Namibia, which opened the tri-series with an impressive win over South Africa, looked out of contention at 76/6 in the chase before Zane Green and Alexander Volshnik produced a stunning 109 runs from the seventh wicket off just 49 balls.
Zimbabwe started strongly after being asked to bat, with Ben Curran and Brian Bennett putting together a quick 64-run opening stand. Namibia struck with the final ball of the Powerplay when Bennett edged JJ Smit to deep mid-wicket, falling to 32 off 21 balls. Dion Myers then fell to Bernard Schulz next, and was beaten by someone who turned sharply to clear the top.
Two balls later, Gerhard Erasmus made the biggest breakthrough by removing Sikandar Raza for a golden duck, as the batsman misjudged the batting sweep. Curran’s dismissal in the ninth over sparked another wobble, and when Erasmus removed Wesley Madhaver soon after, Namibia were reeling Zimbabwe at 79/5 in the 10th over.
Ryan Pearl and Brad Evans later added 94 off 48 balls for the eighth wicket and completely changed the course of the innings. Namibia’s decision to return to rotation in the final also proved particularly costly. Pearl fired Erasmus for six and three successive fours, taking 20 off the top as Zimbabwe reached an impressive total of 195/6.
Namibia’s chase began with two neat finishes before Lauren Steenkamp was eventually dismissed by Blessing Muzarabane in the third period. Gerhard Erasmus made 12 quick points before falling to Brad Evans. Jean-Nicole Lofty Eaton briefly counter-attacked with 20 off 13, but was dismissed by Brian Bennett and JJ Smit in the space of three balls, leaving Namibia at 66/4.
Jan Frylinck’s patient 22 off 29 could not stop the slide as it became Wellington Masakadza’s first wicket in the 11th over. And when Robin Trompelman fell to Sikandar Raza in the next over, Namibia were looking down and out at 76/6.
What followed was an extraordinary recovery. Volshnik came out swinging, facing Wellington Masakadza with two sixes on the 13th and repeatedly targeting the shorter lengths. Green joined him and gradually began to find his range. The duo gave it their all, picking up incomplete deliveries and refusing to let Zimbabwe settle. Their partnership crossed 100 runs, and suddenly Namibia needed just 16 runs from the end, with six wickets already lost.
Brad Evans, who was eventually brought back to the ball, started off no ball, although Namibia could only manage two runs of it. Two more runs followed before Green was run out for 54 off 26, clipped at the non-striker’s end by a direct hit from Raza.
Volschenk kept the chase alive with a straight boundary down the ground, but his brilliant innings ended at 56 off 29 when he took a full, wide delivery and Marumani produced a brilliant one-handed catch behind the stumps.
With two balls remaining, Namibia needed nine. Bernard Schulz ran out on a desperate solo attempt, leaving Jacques Brassel with the last chance. Evans held his nerve, bowling Brasil for a duck and sealing a remarkable five-run win for Zimbabwe.
Summary scores: Zimbabwe 195/6 (Ryan Burle 57*; Gerhard Erasmus 3-46) beat Namibia 190 (Alexander Volshnik 56, Zane Green 54; Brad Evans 3-41) by 5 runs.
