Dewald Brevis blazed to an unbeaten 75 off just 32 balls to steer South Africa to a comfortable seven-wicket win over Zimbabwe at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek, getting the Proteas’ campaign back on track after their opening-day defeat to hosts Namibia.
Put in to bat, Zimbabwe never quite found fluency against a disciplined South Africa attack. Ben Curran got them away briskly, striking 24 off just 12 balls, but the platform he and his fellow top-order batters built was repeatedly undone by the loss of regular wickets.
Dion Myers made 17 before falling to a smart effort from Bjorn Fortuin, and Brian Bennett’s watchful 34 off 35 balls which was the innings’ top score, ended when he was bowled by Prenelan Subrayen.
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Subrayen also accounted for Ryan Burl as Zimbabwe slipped to 94/5 in the 16th over, with skipper Sikandar Raza also managing only 10 off 17 deliveries before he was well caught by Jordan Hermann off Eathan Bosch, leaving the innings in need of a late lift.
That came from Tadiwanashe Marumani, who crashed 30 off just 13 balls with three sixes to give the total some respectability. He shared a rapid 43-run stand for the sixth wicket with Wessly Madhevere before both fell in the space of two balls towards the end.
Duan Jansen was the pick of the South African bowlers with 3/45, while Subrayen (2/27), Bosch (1/20), Kwena Maphaka (1/24) and Fortuin (1/25) shared the rest as Zimbabwe closed on 144/8.
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South Africa’s chase got off to a solid start, but Zimbabwe stayed in the hunt with Lhuan-Dre Pretorius (22 off 13) and Jordan Hermann (20 off 13) both falling inside the first six overs to leave the total on 61 for 2.
But any hint of Zimbabwe pressure was blown away by Brevis, who took the game away from the bowlers with six sixes and seven fours in a dazzling 32-ball knock.
Tony de Zorzi supported him in a stand worth 46 for the third wicket before he was caught behind off Blessing Muzarabani for 15 but Brevis simply carried on, finishing the match off in the company of Rubin Hermann (11* off 7) as South Africa raced home with more than six overs to spare.
The result got South Africa off the mark in the tri-series after their opening loss to Namibia. The tri-series is now nicely poised going into the upcoming fixtures.
Broadcast details
Fans from around the world can tune in to watch all the matches of the momentous tri-series, including the final, which will be streaming live on ICC.tv. Fans can also catch the action via:
– OneAfrica TV: Namibia and Zimbabwe
– SuperSport: All African territories, except Namibia and Zimbabwe
– FanCode: India
– Styx: Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka
– ICC.tv: Rest of world, including all African territories except Namibia and Zimbabwe
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