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South Africa vs Zimbabwe Match 4 Full Commentary
Result · Sep 01 2026, Tue - 05:30 PM (IST)
Match 4, - Namibia Cricket Ground
ZIM 142/10 (17.4)
SA 185/7 (20.0)
South Africa beat Zimbabwe by 43 runs
CRR:8.04
Player Of The Match
We are back for the chase! The two umpires are back out in the middle and so are the players of South Africa. It will be the duo of Brian Bennett and Ben Curran to open the batting for Zimbabwe. Kwena Maphaka will get proceedings underway with the ball. Let's go...
... THE RUN CHASE ...
Zimbabwe strike back at the death - With the Proteas eyeing a total well beyond 200, Zimbabwe mounted a sensational late fightback. Madhevere removed Rubin Hermann and Eathan Bosch in the 18th over, and Evans returned to dismiss the magnificent Pretorius for 94 off 51 balls in the 19th. The late cluster of wickets restricted South Africa to 185/7, setting Zimbabwe a competitive target of 186. Stay tuned for the chase...
Pretorius and Brevis turn up the heat - Dewald Brevis joined Pretorius, and the pair unleashed fireworks through the middle overs, stitching together a brutal 86-run stand. Pretorius took the bowling attack apart with clean hitting, while Brevis smashed 41 off 27 balls to push South Africa to 148/1 after 15 overs before Brad Evans finally struck in the 16th over.
A blistering start - South Africa got off to a flyer after opting to bat, with Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Jordan Hermann finding the fence at will to race to 59 without loss in the Powerplay. Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza rotated his bowlers searching for answers, finally finding one in the 8th over when Wesley Madhevere broke the 68-run opening partnership by dismissing Hermann for 28.
OUT! FORTUIN IS RUN OUT! South Africa end their innings at 185/7. Full and outside off, Bjorn Fortuin shuffles across and steers it to backward point and calls for two. Wessly Madhevere throws it towards the keeper, Tadiwanashe Marumani, who whips the bails off in a flash. Bjorn Fortuin was short despite the dive.
Full and outside off, Bjorn Fortuin moves across but leaves it alone in hopes of a wide, which is not given.
Much fuller, outside off, Bjorn Fortuin taps it towards point.
Wide! Way outside off, Bjorn Fortuin leaves it alone. Wided.
Full and straight, Duan Jansen knocks it to long on for one more.
Full and outside off, Bjorn Fortuin steers it through covers for a single.
A full toss outside off, Duan Jansen slams it down to the right of long off for a single.
Lhuan-dre Pretorius falls for 94. Bjorn Fortuin walks in to bat now. Newman Nyamhuri to bowl the final over of the first innings.
OUT! TIMBER! Brad Evans strikes. Lhuan-dre Pretorius departs on 94. A slower one, on leg, Lhuan-dre Pretorius moves to his off side and looks to flick it but is early in the swing of his bat. The ball zooms through and rattles over the leg pole. Pretorius misses out on his well-deserved maiden T20I hundred by only 6 runs.
A full toss, on off, Duan Jansen knocks it to long on for a single.
Too full, outside off, Duan Jansen digs it back to the bowler.
Full and outside off, Lhuan-dre Pretorius flicks it through mid-wicket for a single.
FOUR! Pretorius moves to 93 now! Full and outside off, Lhuan-dre Pretorius uses the pace of the ball and squeezes it through third man for a boundary.
A low full toss, outside off, Lhuan-dre Pretorius looks to flick it but wears it on his pads. An appeal but turned down.
Duan Jansen walks in to bat now.
OUT! TAKEN! Wessly Madhevere gets his third wicket. Flatter, outside off, Eathan Bosch reaches out to it and looks to loft it. Gets it off the toe end of his bat as the ball carries towards long on. Innocent Kaia keeps his composure near the fence and takes the catch.
Quicker, on off, Lhuan-dre Pretorius knocks it to mid off for a single.
Wide! Way outside off, Lhuan-dre Pretorius leaves it alone. Wide called.
Full and on off, Eathan Bosch flicks it to mid-wicket for a single.
Wide! Down the leg side, Eathan Bosch leaves it alone.
Short, on off, Eathan Bosch punches it through covers for a brace.
Eathan Bosch walks in to bat now.
OUT! TAKEN! Wessly Madhevere gets his second wicket. A short stay for Rubin Hermann. Loopy, on off, Rubin Hermann moves forward and looks to loft it, but the ball hits the upper part of his bat. It carries towards long on, where Innocent Kaia takes a good catch.
Half chance! Short, on off, Rubin Hermann slaps it back to the right of the bowler. Wessly Madhevere dives to his right to take the catch but fails to hold onto it.
A full toss, outside off, Lhuan-dre Pretorius looks to flick it but misses.
An all-important clash coming up - Righto, South Africa have made it back-to-back wins and will be feeling a lot more relaxed. Zimbabwe, on the other hand, will be feeling the pressure as they don't completely have things in their own hands. They would need to win their final group game and hope that South Africa win theirs too. Next up, it will be Zimbabwe facing Namibia, and if the hosts win, the final will be set, but if Zimbabwe win, things will get really interesting. The 5th match of the Tri-series will again be played in Windhoek, on Thursday, September 3. The game will begin at 12 pm GMT, but you can tune in a lot sooner for the build-up as well. Cheers!
The victorious skipper of South Africa - Bjorn Fortuin starts by saying that he's happy with the performance, but there are a few areas to tidy up, citing the death bowling and batting. Goes on to applaud Lhuan-dre Pretorius, saying that he assessed the conditions well, and lauds Duan Jansen, who bowled 4 overs on the trot and picked up wickets as well. On his own form, he says that it feels well to be contributing. On their next game, he says that every game matters and they want to finish strong.
The captain of Zimbabwe - Sikandar Raza says that they just have to win the next game and hope that South Africa also beat Namibia, and feels that all is not lost and there are a few positives to take from the game. He does admit that the shot selection from the top order needs to be better and feels that their death bowling was pretty good, and they have ticked a few more boxes with the ball. Feels that it is very hard to defend at this venu and if they had wickets in hand, it would have been a lot closer. Ends by talking about the tailenders hitting the boundaries, and says that it's good to see them contributing with the bat, and the top-order is also doing well, but people in the middle order, including himself need to do more with the bat.
Player of the Match - Lhuan-dre Pretorius gets the award for his match-winning knock of 94 off just 51 balls. He starts by saying that he is happy with the win and feels that the century will come if it's meant to be and the victory matters more. Goes on to add that he had a chat with Heinrich Klaasen before the game, and it actually helped, and he will now try to keep positive even if he fails.
The Presentation ceremony...
A late surge, but not enough - Zimbabwe went into the innings break thinking they had done a very decent job in pulling things back with the ball. However, after a quick start, their run chase went completely downhill and really quickly as well. They went from 33/0 to 66/8, on the verge of an absolute battering. Sikandar Raza then decided to just go for it and put on a 40-run stand with Newman Nyamhuri, before getting out on 45. Nyamhuri and Kundai Matigimu had a bit of fun out there, taking the final score to 142, and saving Zimbabwe from the blushes.
Pretorius and Fortuin, the standouts - Earlier in the day, it was Lhuan-dre Pretorius who put on a show with the bat, amassing 94 runs and falling agonizingly shy of his first T20I ton. Dewald Brevis kept up his run-scoring form as well with a breezy 41 but the Proteas did lose steam towards the end of their batting innings. With the ball, it was a similar story as they got as many as 4 wickets inside the Powerplay and got a chokehold on the game. Duan Jansen was breathing fire, and Bjorn Fortuin too seemed to be in excellent form, picking up a wicket off his very first ball. Fortuin went on to get the crucial wicket of Sikandar Raza and even closed things out with a brilliant four-fer.
Proteas with one foot in the final - After enduring a tough start to this Tri-series, South Africa have now managed to pick up a couple of big wins over Zimbabwe and sit comfortably at the top with a very healthy net run rate as well. This win was set up in the initial overs with the ball as Zimbabwe's top-order crumbled and left a mountain to climb for the lower order.
OUT! CAUGHT! Finally, the Proteas manage to close things out, and South Africa win by 43 runs. Bjorn Fortuin drags the length back, bowling it into the surface and around off. Newman Nyamhuri backs away a bit, lifting it high and down to long off. Eathan Bosch comes in from the deep and takes a good catch as Fortuin ends with a four-fer. Zimbabwe are bowled out for 142.
Darted down leg, Nyamhuri goes for a reverse dab but misses and the ball goes past the keeper as well. It rolls down to deep third after deflecting off the keeper and the batters get two byes,
Quicker one, wide outside off and drifting in late. Nyamhuri leaves it alone.
A big swing and a miss! Floated up wide outside off, Newman Nyamhuri looks to wallop it away but only connects with thin air.
Oh, a misfield and the extra run is taken. Full and straight, jammed down through mid-wicket. The on-rushing fielder fails to pick it up cleanly and concedes the second run.
Slower one, bowled back of a length and around off. Nyamhuri swings at it and gets an outside edge down to deep third for a run.
Full and angled into the batter. Newman Nyamhuri backs away a fair bit and jams it to mid off.
Excellent running! Fuller one at the stumps, swung away off the inside edge and down to deep backward square leg for a couple of runs.
Back of a length, following the batter down leg. Nyamhuri looks to pull but miscues it badly towards the bowler.
Good length, angled across off, Matigimu nudges it down to deep third and turns the strike over.
DROPPED! That should have been game, set and match. Flighted ball, Newman Nyamhuri swings across the line but gets more height than distance. The ball sails down to deep mid-wicket, where the fielder tries to reverse cup it but spills it. Two taken.
Quicker one, fired well wide of the off stump. Nyamhuri leave it alone.
FOUR! Length ball around off, Nyamhuri brings out the reverse sweep now, hitting it high and down to the vacant backward point fence for a boundary.
PUT DOWN! Can barely call it a catching chance, as it was hit really hard. Full and straight, Nyamhuri pummels it straight back to the bowler. Bjorn Fortuin gets both hands on it but it doesn't stick, and that will sting for a bit as well.
Shorter in length, floated outside off, this is sliced away over the point region for a couple of runs.
SIX! Number 10 and 11 showing the top order how it's done! Fuller one at the stumps, Newman Nyamhuri sits down and flat-bats the slog sweep in front of deep mid-wicket for a maximum.
Nagging length at the stumps, tucked away just into the leg side. The bowler is quick to cut it off.
SIX! Wow, that's come out of nowhere! On a good length, turning into leg. Kundai Matigimu sits down and just lays into the slog sweep, hitting it high and over cow corner for a biggie.
A full ball around off, Nyamhuri chips it down to long on for a single.
Unlucky for the batter. Floated up on the stumps, Newman Nyamhuri steps out and drills it at a rate of knots. However, he hits it too straight and the ball smashes into the stumps at the other end, deflecting down to long on for two runs.
Tossed up outside off, turning back in. Matigimu pushes it out on the off side for a single.
A low full toss on off, punched away down to long off for a single.