Namibia claimed a historic win over South Africa in the first international game between the two sides, sealing the result with a four off the final ball of the match.
After limiting South Africa to 134-8 in their innings, Namibia held on to the bitter end in the chase. They were reduced to 84-5, despite South Africa pacer Gerald Coetzee leaving the field injured half-way through his second over, but an unbeaten 30 off 23 balls from Zane Green – also celebrating his 29th birthday – at No.7 saw the home side over the line. With 11 needed off the final over, Green hit A Simelane for a six off the first ball, before coming back on strike to hit a low full toss for a four off the final ball of the match.
The result is the first win for Namibia over South Africa, with the two sides having never faced each other before in a men's international. The match was also the first to be played at Namibia's new dedicated stadium in Windhoek. Namibia have only previously recorded T20I wins over Zimbabwe, Ireland and Sri Lanka of the full member sides.
One-off T20I, Namibia vs South Africa
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De Kock's underwhelming return
The one-off match between the neighbouring countries also comes the day before South Africa are due to start their Test series in Pakistan. Due to the tight schedule, South Africa's all-format players were missing from the T20I side, with Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada and several others absent.
One name who wasn't absent was Quinton de Kock, playing in his first T20I in over a year after he reversed his international retirement last month. However, De Kock had a return to forget, after he was out for 1 in the first over of the match. From there, the situation worsened for the Proteas when they slipped to 82-6, with Ruben Trumpelmen taking three wickets.
Despite also making early inroads against Namibia, South Africa conceded 18 extras in their innings, including nine wides. It's South Africa's second loss in a men's T20I to an Associate team, having lost to the Netherlands in 2022.
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