Zimbabwe – 211-3 in 20 overs (Brian Bennett 94, Tadiwanashe Marumani 62, Sikandar Raza 23*; Alexander Busing-Volschenk 2/43, Ruben Trumpelmann 1/46)
Namibia – 178-7 in 20 overs (Jan Nicole Loftie-Eaton 38, Zane Green 33, Gerhard Erasmus 26; Sikandar Raza 2/31, Blessing Muzarabani 2/38, Wellington Masakadza 1/23)
Zimbabwe won by 33 runs
A dazzling 94 from Brian Bennett set the stage for Zimbabwe’s comfortable 33-run victory over Namibia in the opening T20 international at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo on Monday.
Put in to bat, the hosts got off to a superb start as Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani shared a commanding opening stand of 124 in 14 overs.
After a steady beginning, the pair tore into the Namibian attack, with Bennett plundering 14 runs off four balls from Gerhard Erasmus just before Marumani was dismissed for 62.
The left-hander’s 48-ball knock, which included two sixes and six fours, was one of his most assured innings before he fell to Alexander Busing-Volschenk.
Ryan Burl kept the momentum going, striking two sixes and a four in consecutive deliveries from Busing-Volschenk, only to be dismissed next ball for 22, leaving Zimbabwe on 165 for two in the 17th over.
Raza then joined Bennett, but the latter, closing in on a rare T20I century, was caught behind off Ruben Trumpelmann in the penultimate over for a blistering 94 off 51 balls, studded with four sixes and eight fours.
The final over, bowled by JJ Smit, went for 15 runs including three wides, as Raza finished unbeaten on 23 from just 11 balls, guiding Zimbabwe to an imposing 211 for three.
All Namibian bowlers conceded at least nine runs an over in the face of relentless hitting.
Chasing a daunting target, Namibia showed spirit with most of their top order scoring at better than a run a ball.
Malan Kruger and Jan Frylinck put on 18 from the first 15 balls before Kruger fell to Blessing Muzarabani for 13.
Frylinck then combined with Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton for a brisk 56-run stand for the second wicket, dominated by Loftie-Eaton’s 38 off 24 balls.
But at 74, both fell in quick succession to the spin of Raza and Wellington Masakadza, stalling Namibia’s chase.
Erasmus struck 26 off 19 balls and added 44 with Zane Green before he too departed to Raza, leaving Namibia needing nearly 15 runs an over.
Trumpelmann briefly threatened with a lively 20 off nine balls, but once he departed and Green’s 33 came to an end, the chase fizzled out.
Namibia eventually closed on 178 for seven, 33 runs short.
Raza was the pick of the bowlers with two for 31, while Muzarabani also claimed two for 38.
Zimbabwe defeat Namibia as Bennett, Marumani lead the charge
