Brevis stars again as South Africa beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets in Tri-Series
Dewald Brevis struck an unbeaten 75 for the second straight day as South Africa defeated Zimbabwe by seven wickets in a T20 Tri-Series match in Windhoek.
South Africa beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets on Saturday in the second match of a Twenty20 Tri-Series being played in Windhoek, Namibia, with an experimental South African squad bouncing back after an upset loss to hosts Namibia the previous day.
Zimbabwe won the toss, chose to bat first, and posted 144 runs for the loss of eight wickets in their 20 overs. Opener Brian Bennett top-scored with 34 runs off 35 balls. According to both sources, Zimbabwe made a fast start, with Bennett and Ben Curran (24 off 12 balls) putting on an opening stand of 45 runs in 5.1 overs. South Africa's spin bowlers then reined in the innings, with Prenelan Subrayen taking 2 wickets for 27 runs and Bjorn Fortuin taking 1 for 25. Fast bowler Duan Jansen — twin brother of South African all-rounder Marco Jansen — was expensive but returned figures of 3 for 45 in his four overs, in only his second international appearance.
Brevis leads the chase
South Africa chased down the target comfortably, reaching 146 runs for the loss of three wickets with 38 balls to spare. The standout performer was 23-year-old Dewald Brevis, who, batting at No. 3, struck an unbeaten 75 runs off just 32 balls, including six sixes and seven fours. Brevis hit the winning runs himself, an outside edge for four off bowler Brad Evans, and was named player of the match.
"I'm enjoying it here. It is a lovely ground and the crowd are fantastic. It is great to get a win after we slipped up yesterday," Brevis said after the match.
It marked the second consecutive day Brevis scored 75 runs — on Friday he also reached a half-century against Namibia, but that innings could not stop the hosts from pulling off a surprise 18-run win in the series opener. South Africa are fielding an experimental line-up in the tournament, having rested most of their regular players.
The Tri-Series continues on Monday, when hosts Namibia face Zimbabwe at the same venue, with the top two teams in the series set to meet in the final.
