In the third T20I played in Windhoek, Zimbabwe defeated Namibia (NAM vs ZIM) by 6 wickets with eight balls to spare to take a 2-1 lead in the 5-match series. Playing first, Namibia scored 138/6 in 20 overs, in reply Zimbabwe scored 144/4 in 18.4 overs, registering their second consecutive win in the series. Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza was adjudged player of the match for his innings of 52 runs in 36 balls.
Namibia won the toss and decided to bat first but Zimbabwe’s bowlers made a strong start. Opener Nicholas Devlin (10) scored 19 runs in the third over and Michael Van Lingen also scored 10 runs in the fourth over on the score 27. Captain Gerhard Erasmus (4) was also out on the score of 27 in the fifth over. In this way the team scored 36/3 in the first six overs during the powerplay.
From here, Yann Frylink and JP Kotje took over the innings and made a half-century partnership, taking the score beyond 90. Frylink scored 41 runs in 39 balls with the help of three fours and a six before being out on the score of 94 in the 14th over, while Kotje scored 31 runs in 28 balls and was out for the fifth wicket on the score of 114 in the 18th over. As returned to the pavilion. In the last overs, JJ Smit scored unbeaten 24 runs in 18 balls and took the team to a challenging score. Luke Jongwe took the maximum of two wickets for Zimbabwe.
While chasing the target, Zimbabwe got the first blow in the form of Nick Welch (10) on the score of 10 on the fifth ball of the innings. Captain Craig Ervin was out on the score of 43 in the sixth over after scoring 17 runs in 16 balls. Zimbabwe reached the 50-run mark in the eighth over. Tinashe Kamunhukamwe (36) combined with Sikandar Raza to take the score to 80 before being dismissed in the 12th over. Taking the reins, Raza scored his second consecutive half-century and scored 52 runs in 36 balls. Together with Ryan Burl he took the score to 133. Burl played an unbeaten inning of 15 runs and Wesley Madhevere played an unbeaten inning of 11 runs, giving the team victory in the 19th over.
Zimbabwe is leading 2-1 in the five-match series and now the fourth T20I will be played at the same venue on 29 October.
