The South African cricket team beat Zimbabwe by 48 runs on 6 September 2026, to win the Namibia T20I Tri-Series trophy.
South Africa won the toss and chose to bat first at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek. They scored 205 runs for the loss of five wickets in their 20 overs. In reply, the bowlers dismissed Zimbabwe for 157 runs in 18 overs to secure the championship title.
Hermann and Esterhuizen Provide Fast Start
South Africa played without opening batter Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who missed the match because of a groin injury. However, Connor Esterhuizen and Jordan Hermann started the innings, and hit three boundaries off Wesley Madhevere in the opening over of the match. In the third over, both batters hit sixes off Newman Nyamhuri. They then scored 20 runs off Kundai Matigimu in the sixth over to finish the Powerplay strongly.
Jordan Hermann reached his first T20I half-century in just 24 balls. His aggressive innings included eight fours and one six. Hermann was named the Player of the Match. The opening pair shared an 84-run partnership before Esterhuizen fell in the eighth over. Esterhuizen scored 32 runs off 23 balls before he holed out to end the opening stand.
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Middle-Order Partnerships Keep Pressure on Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe fought back briefly in the middle overs. They dismissed Jordan Hermann in the 10th over for 53 runs off 29 balls. They then dismissed Tony de Zorzi in the 13th over.
Despite these wickets, Dewald Brevis and Rubin Hermann scored a 47-run partnership. Brevis scored 32 runs from 23 balls. Rubin Hermann scored 27 runs off 16 balls, hitting three fours and one six. Brevis also won the Player of the Series award after a sensational performance in the T20I Tri-Series.
Both batters fell within the space of four balls, but Duan Jansen kept the scoreboard ticking. Jansen scored an unbeaten 23 runs off 14 balls to push South Africa past the 200-run mark. South Africa finished their 20 overs on 205 for 5.
For Zimbabwe, Brad Evans and Newman Nyamhuri took two wickets each. Evans conceded 36 runs, while Nyamhuri conceded 51 runs. Blessing Muzarabani conceded only 25 runs from his four overs, but he did not take a wicket.
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Early Wickets Cause Zimbabwe Chase to Collapse
Zimbabwe collapsed early in their chase of 206 runs. The team fell to 25 for four in the fourth over and ended the Powerplay at 46 for four.
In the first over, Eathan Bosch dismissed opener Ben Curran for a first-ball duck. In the next over, Duan Jansen dismissed Brian Bennett. Innocent Kaia holed out in the third over after a fielder dropped him three balls earlier. In the fourth over, Wesley Madhevere hit a pull shot directly to deep-square leg to leave Zimbabwe in deep trouble. Both opening bowlers, Bosch and Jansen, claimed two wickets each during this dominant Powerplay period.
Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl made a 27-run partnership. However, South African captain Bjorn Fortuin bowled Burl in the eighth over to break the stand. Zimbabwe fell to 57 for six in the ninth over.
Raza received a second chance when the umpires overturned a caught-behind decision because Bosch had bowled a no-ball. However, Fortuin soon dismissed the Zimbabwe captain in the 10th over to end his innings. Fortuin took three wickets for 24 runs from his four overs.
Evans Fights Back with Unbeaten Fifty
Brad Evans played a lone hand for Zimbabwe late in the innings. He hit four fours and four sixes to score his first T20I half-century. Evans scored an unbeaten 56 runs.
Evans and Kundai Matigimu shared a 52-run partnership for the ninth wicket to delay South Africa’s victory. Kwena Maphaka eventually broke the partnership, and South Africa bowled Zimbabwe out for 157 in the 18th over.
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