Windhoek (Namibia), Oct 11 (NationPress) - In an exhilarating match, Namibia achieved an impressive four-wicket victory over South Africa in the one-off T20I held in Windhoek. The thrilling finale concluded with the last ball of the game, marking South Africa's second T20I defeat against an Associate nation, following their loss to the Netherlands during the 2022 T20 World Cup.

Chasing a target of 135 runs, Namibia's innings was anchored by Zane Green, who scored an unbeaten 30 off 23 balls, alongside Ruben Trumpelmann's remarkable all-round contribution (3-28 and 11 not out off 8 balls). With 11 runs needed from the final over, Green ignited the crowd's excitement by hitting a six off the first delivery bowled by Andile Simelane. Although Simelane tightened his bowling afterward, Green expertly dispatched a low full toss from the last ball to secure the victory.

Earlier in the match, South Africa, who won the toss and chose to bat, faced early setbacks with the dismissals of Quinton de Kock and Reeza Hendricks. On a challenging pitch, Lhua-dre Pretorius and Rubin Hermann managed to add 30 runs before Trumpelmann struck again, aided by a spectacular catch at deep square leg. South Africa struggled to build momentum, slipping to 68 for 5 by the 11th over.

Jason Smith attempted to stabilize the innings with some late runs, but boundaries were scarce on a surface that offered both grip and bounce. Contributions from Bjorn Fortuin and Gerald Coetzee helped South Africa reach a total of 134 for 8.

Namibia's innings began cautiously despite losing early wickets. South Africa's bowlers, particularly Coetzee, struggled for rhythm, leading to his departure after just four balls into his second over. By the seventh over, Namibia had accumulated 51 runs while losing three wickets.

Captain Gerhard Erasmus, JJ Smit, and Jason Kruger played pivotal roles in stabilizing the innings during the middle overs, keeping Namibia in contention. With 28 runs required off the last three overs, Green and Trumpelmann demonstrated composure, finding crucial boundaries to wrap up a historic win on the final ball.

Trumpelmann earned the Player of the Match title for his significant all-round display that contributed to Namibia's landmark victory.

Brief scores:

South Africa 134/8 in 20 overs (Jason Smith 31, Rubin Hermann 23; Ruben Trumpelmann 3-23, Max Heingo 2-32) lost to Namibia 138/6 in 20 overs (Zane Green 30 not out, Gerhard Erasmus 21; Nandre Burger 2-21, Andile Simelane 2-28) by four wickets.