By Kudzaiishe Zvaguma
Namibia produced a thrilling performance to beat Zimbabwe by 28 runs in the third and final T20 at Queens Sports Club despite Zimbabwe having already secured the series with wins in the first two matches.
Chasing Namibia’s formidable total of 204-7 in 20 overs, Zimbabwe struggled to keep up.
At one stage, they required 131 runs from just 60 balls but their innings fell short finishing on 176 in 19.5 overs.
Namibia’s innings featured explosive hitting from Jan Frylinck who struck 77 off 31 balls.
Ruben Trumpelmann contributed 46 from 24 deliveries while Gerhard Erasmus added 14. Sikandar Raza took three wickets for Zimbabwe but could not prevent Namibia from posting a competitive total.
Zimbabwe’s chase began poorly, with openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani dismissed early. Sean Williams offered resistance, scoring 77 from 45 balls but he lacked support from the middle order. JJ Smit starred with the ball for Namibia claiming four wickets while Erasmus and Trumpelmann made important contributions.
The series concluded 2-1 to Zimbabwe, who now turn their focus to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Regional Final, scheduled from September 26 to October 4.
