Namibia registered their first ever T20I series win over a full member cricketing nation, beating Zimbabwe by 32 runs in the decider of the five-match affair in Bulawayo on May 24.
Gerhard Erasmus (2/9) and Jan Frylinck (2/25) were the standout contributors, while each of the other four bowlers, including the experienced David Weise, bagged a wicket each.
For Zimbabwe, Tony Munyonga played the lone hand with a fighting 28. Earlier, Craig Williams led Namibia’s batting charge with a 39-ball 48, which included five fours, after being put in to bat. Zimbabwe operated with eight different bowling options, with Luke Jongwe, Wesley Madhevere and Sikandar Raza returning two wickets apiece.
Zimbabwe had begun the series on a winning note, clinching a last-over thriller by seven runs while defending 153/4 in the first T20I. Namibia bounced back strongly in the second, with Williams scoring an unbeaten 62 in a resounding eight-wicket win.
Zimbabwe returned the favour in the third T20I, with Madhevere’s unbeaten 61-ball 73 being the highlight of an easy run-chase of 129, which was set up by Tendai Chatara and Raza’s three wickets each earlier.
Captain Erasmus then stepped up for Namibia in the fourth T20I, scoring a 43-ball 59* to help his team to complete a 158-run successful chase off the final ball of the 20th over, thereby levelling the series 2-2 to set it up for a decider.
With the historic result, Namibia have now earned a direct qualification to the T20 World Cup 2022 to be played later this year in Australia, after their promising showing in the last year’s edition in the UAE.
Zimbabwe, on the other hand, had last participated in the 2016 edition in India, and are due to host the qualifiers in July for the 2022 tournament. They’ll host Afghanistan next for three ODIs, beginning June 4, followed by as many T20Is.
