Zimbabwe's senior men's cricket team, the Chevrons, delivered a commanding all-round show at Queens Sports Club yesterday, beating Namibia by five wickets, to wrap up the three match T20I series with a game to spare.
This marks Zimbabwe's first T20I series triumph over Namibia, having lost the previous two contests 3-2.
Coach Justin Sammons' men made two changes to Monday's winning XI, bringing in Tony Munyonga and Tinotenda Maposa for Dion Myers and Blessing Muzarabani. Electing to field first after winning the toss, Zimbabwe restricted Namibia to 169/6 in 20 overs. The hosts then chased down the target in 18.1 overs, finishing on 170/5.
Opener Tadiwanashe Marumani continued his purple patch, striking a third successive half century. He shared a 59-run stand with Brian Bennett, who fell 10 runs short of his own fifty, and later added 56 with Brendan Taylor to anchor the chase.
Follow us on WhatsApp | LinkedIn for the latest headlines
"It was more of a partnership thing, we had another good foundation at the top with the bat. We put in a lot of work coming into this series and it's showing. It's nice to win the series. We are trying to put a statement as well going into the qualifiers," said Maposa, who celebrated a solid home outing.
"It's always special playing at Queens Sports Club. Every time I play here, I cherish the moment," he added.
Richard Ngarava struck early, bowling Jan Frylinck for 22 with the last ball of the fourth over. Sikandar Raza then broke a 71-run second-wicket stand by having Malan Kruger caught by Bradley Evans for 45.
Maposa followed with a key scalp, dismissing Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton for 47 in the 15th over.
Namibia's lower order collapsed late, losing three wickets in the last two overs. Ngarava removed captain Gerhard Erasmus with the final ball of the 19th, and Evans claimed JJ Smit and Alexander Busing-Volschenk in the final over.
Evans and Ngarava both finished with 2/25, while Maposa and Raza took one wicket apiece.
In reply, Marumani powered to 50 from 36 balls before being caught, while Taylor added 29 off 26. After quick exits for Raza (3) and Munyonga (10), Ryan Burl (24 not out off 13) and Tashinga Musekiwa (9 not out off 4) sealed the win, Musekiwa hammering a towering six to end it in style.
Bernard Scholtz, Smit and Ruben Trumpelmann each claimed a wicket for Namibia.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The third and final match of the series will be played on Thursday at the same venue, starting at 1:30PM, with free entry for fans.
