Namibia achieved a historic four-wicket victory over South Africa in a nail-biting one-off T20 International match held in Windhoek. The thrilling encounter concluded on the very last ball, marking a significant achievement for the Associate nation. This victory represents South Africa’s second T20I defeat against an Associate team, following their loss to the Netherlands in the 2022 T20 World Cup. Namibia successfully chased a target of 135, with Zane Green playing a crucial unbeaten innings of 30 off 23 balls. Ruben Trumpelmann was instrumental throughout the match, contributing with both bat and ball, taking 3 wickets for 28 runs and scoring a vital 11 not out off just 8 deliveries. In the tense final over, with 11 runs needed, Green smashed a crucial six off the first ball. Although the bowler tightened up, Green sealed the dramatic win with a boundary off the last delivery.
South Africa, after opting to bat first, lost key batsmen Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks early on a challenging pitch. Lhua-dre Pretorius and Rubin Hermann built a partnership of 30 runs before Trumpelmann struck again, supported by an excellent catch. South Africa struggled to build momentum, consistently losing wickets and finding themselves at 68 for 5 by the 11th over. Jason Smith offered some late resistance, but scoring was difficult due to the pitch’s grip and bounce. Contributions from Bjorn Fortuin and Gerald Coetzee helped push the total to 134 for 8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Namibia’s chase began steadily, but they lost wickets in the initial stages. South Africa’s pacers faced challenges with consistency. By the seventh over, Namibia had reached 51 for 3. Captain Gerhard Erasmus, JJ Smit, and Jason Kruger provided stability in the middle overs, keeping Namibia within striking distance. With 28 runs required from the final three overs, Green and Trumpelmann displayed composure, finding crucial boundaries and steering their team to a famous victory on the final ball.
