Brad Evans took two wickets and made 56 not out from number eight, and Zimbabwe still lost the final by 48
South Africa made 205 for 5 in Windhoek and had Zimbabwe 61 for 7 in reply. The last three wickets added 96, which was the best part of Zimbabwe’s day and nowhere near enough.
Sep 6, 2026
Zimbabwe were 61 for 7 chasing 206 in the tri-series final at Windhoek on Sunday. They finished on 157 all out, beaten by 48 runs, and 96 of those runs came after the seventh wicket fell. Brad Evans made 56 not out from number eight, having already taken two wickets. It was a fine day’s work and it did not come close to mattering.
South Africa’s openers set it up in six overs
South Africa won the toss, batted, and were 67 without loss after the powerplay. Connor Esterhuizen and Jordan Hermann brought up fifty in 31 balls and put on 84 before Esterhuizen fell in the eighth over for 32 from 23.
Jordan Hermann was the one who really made the innings. He reached fifty off 24 balls with eight fours and a six, and he was gone in the tenth over for 53, caught by Ryan Burl off Evans. Dewald Brevis added 32 from 23, Rubin Hermann 27 from 16, and Duan Jansen finished 23 not out from 14 to push South Africa to 205 for 5 at exactly 10.25 an over.
Zimbabwe’s bowlers had a rough afternoon in the field. Newman Nyamhuri went for 51 in his four overs and took two. Kundai Matigimu conceded 32 in two. Blessing Muzarabani was the exception, four overs for 25 and no wicket, which on a night like that counts as a good spell.
The chase was over inside 10 overs
Ben Curran was caught behind off the second ball of the innings. Eathan Bosch and Duan Jansen shared the first four wickets and Zimbabwe were 25 for 4 inside four overs, all of them caught. Bjorn Fortuin, captaining South Africa, then had Sikandar Raza caught and bowled Ryan Burl, and by the tenth over the score was 61 for 7.
Fortuin finished with 3 for 24 from his four overs. Jansen took 3 for 38. Kwena Maphaka bowled two overs for nine.
Evans made it look better than it was
Evans came in at 61 for 7 with 145 needed off 63 balls, which is not a situation that rewards caution, so he did not bother with any. He got to fifty off 29 balls with three fours and four sixes and finished 56 not out from 31.
Kundai Matigimu helped him add 50 for the ninth wicket in 27 balls, making 19 from 11. Zimbabwe passed 150 with 15 balls still to come, which nobody watching at 61 for 7 would have predicted, and were bowled out in the 18th when Muzarabani holed out to Fortuin off Jansen.
South Africa take the series with a second-string side
This was not a full-strength South Africa. Fortuin was captaining, Lhuan-dre Pretorius was out with a groin problem and Andile Simelane with a side strain, and the batting order was built around players still making their names. It scored 205 in a final anyway.
South Africa had already knocked Namibia out on Friday, winning by 11 runs in Windhoek to send the hosts home from their own tournament. They have now won the 2026 Namibia T20I Tri-Series.
For Zimbabwe, the top seven made 53 runs between them in a final. Evans and Matigimu made 75 from numbers eight and ten. That is the whole match in one line.