1
1
2
0
0
W
= 4
Match Details
NAM vs SA, 1st T20, Namibia T20I Tri-Series 2026 summary
SA
145-9(20.0)
Namibia won by 18 runs 🏆
NAM
(20.0)163-9
+
P'ship : 0(1)
Commentary
All
Highlights
Overs
W
6s
4s
Inn 1
Inn 2
Milestone
That's all we have for you from this contest. This is Rajarshi Das, signing off on behalf of my esteemed co-commentator, Dev Rajawat, and scorer/analyst, Manish Bishnoi. See you later!
South Africa have been jolted badly, but they don't have much time to ponder over the defeat. The Proteas will return tomorrow to take on Zimbabwe, who will take the field with a point to prove after a series defeat to India at home. Join us right here on Crex at 4:30 PM IST (1:00 PM Local Time) for our coverage of the game, and keep following us for a lot more!
Don't we all love an underdog story in sport? Moments like these are what make it beautiful. Namibia, at home, just got the better of their southern African neighbours. It's hard to call it an upset, given the Proteas are yet to defeat the Eagles in an international cricket match. Cricket truly needs results of this kind in order to expand globally. The fact that Namibia weren't even at their best with the bat today makes it all the more remarkable. Having just defeated South Africa, Namibia will be all the more serious about actually winning the entire series - they sure have the minerals for it!
Gerhard Erasmus (Namibia Captain): (On what the win means for Namibia) "I think this is very important in the sense that it shows that we do belong, and it wasn't a once-off. Any of our other previous big wins weren't once-offs. So we've shown it on home turf now as well, not only at World Cups and last year's win. We've shown on home turf that we can be a consistent cricketing team in this format and compete with the best.
(On the team's aggressive approach) I think the buy-in of the players asking to go at the game. In that Powerplay, the batters set that specific tone, and then guys will always follow if your leaders do that type of work.
(On the youngsters' performances) Yeah, definitely. That makes for a great attack, and everyone chipping in with their roles. I think that is a tough team to beat when everyone just performs in their specific role.
(On the momentum going forward) Obviously, there are still three games to go, and our aim is to get to that final and to win that."
(On the team's aggressive approach) I think the buy-in of the players asking to go at the game. In that Powerplay, the batters set that specific tone, and then guys will always follow if your leaders do that type of work.
(On the youngsters' performances) Yeah, definitely. That makes for a great attack, and everyone chipping in with their roles. I think that is a tough team to beat when everyone just performs in their specific role.
(On the momentum going forward) Obviously, there are still three games to go, and our aim is to get to that final and to win that."
Bjorn Fortuin (South Africa captain): "(On the head-to-head record over Namibia and talks going on about it) Disappointingly so. Credit to Namibia; they did really well. Hopefully we can pull our socks up and come back stronger.
(Where did it go wrong?) I think, overall, maybe 20-30 runs too much, in our opinion, especially with the standard we set for ourselves. Thought that we sort of lost our way in the powerplay with the ball. Them getting off to a good start with the ball as well sort of put us on the back foot. It's all about adapting and getting better in the next game, setting up a platform for our players to do their best.
(On the quick turnaround) Yeah, not a lot of time to lick our wounds. Up against a very good Zimbabwe side tomorrow. Like I said, we have to pull up our socks properly. Hopefully we can put our best foot forward tomorrow."
(Where did it go wrong?) I think, overall, maybe 20-30 runs too much, in our opinion, especially with the standard we set for ourselves. Thought that we sort of lost our way in the powerplay with the ball. Them getting off to a good start with the ball as well sort of put us on the back foot. It's all about adapting and getting better in the next game, setting up a platform for our players to do their best.
(On the quick turnaround) Yeah, not a lot of time to lick our wounds. Up against a very good Zimbabwe side tomorrow. Like I said, we have to pull up our socks properly. Hopefully we can put our best foot forward tomorrow."
JJ Smit (Player of the Match): (On winning the Player of the Match Award) "It feels surreal. Now, I can believe that we beat the Proteas again. Just a really proud moment for Cricket Namibia and Namibia as a whole.
(On the pressure of bowling the final over) I felt it. I'm not going to lie. Luckily, Merv (Erasmus) calmed me down, and we just settled it.
(On his personal contribution) Yeah, just looking forward to the next game. I'm going to work on my batting a little, struggling in that department, but yeah, looking forward to the next match."
(On the pressure of bowling the final over) I felt it. I'm not going to lie. Luckily, Merv (Erasmus) calmed me down, and we just settled it.
(On his personal contribution) Yeah, just looking forward to the next game. I'm going to work on my batting a little, struggling in that department, but yeah, looking forward to the next match."
JJ Smit is the Player of the Match!
8:56 PM IST, 5:26 PM Local Time: The unthinkable has just unfolded at Windhoek - AGAIN! The crowd erupted into raucous cheers as soon as Jan Balt, fortunate to be out there for the moment as a substitute, took the catch that brought down the curtains on the opener in what now promises to be a truly memorable T20I Tri-Series! David has beaten Goliath as Namibia get the better of South Africa - Test-playing nation South Africa - by a margin of 18 runs! Louren Steenkamp and Jan Frylinck laid the foundation with the bat, Max Heingo, JJ Smit kept Namibia in the game with the ball in the middle overs, and Ruben Trumpelmann landed a death blow, bowling a game-changing 18th over, one that propelled the Eagles ahead for good!
Having been sent in to bat, Steenkamp and Frylinck made South Africa sweat for that opening breakthrough, getting the innings off to a flier. The boundaries flowed along nicely as well - barring Prenelan Subrayen, all the South African bowlers proved to be a touch expensive in the powerplay as Namibia piled up 57 in the first six overs. Both openers kept going steadily as the middle overs drew along, with Steenkamp looking to push on. The partnership for the first wicket was eventually broken in the 10th over by the South African skipper himself, as he cleaned up Steenkamp.
Frylinck and Namibia skipper Gerhard Erasmus then took their side past three figures, looking to stitch a partnership. The duo ran really hard between the wickets, with Erasmus, as he always does, pushing for the extra run. It took Brevis' part-time leg-break to account for Frylinck, who departed after a knock of 60 off 38. South Africa then managed to make their way back into the game - with the spin duo of Subrayen and Fortuin creating pressure, wickets tumbled as the death overs drew on. Subrayen was the pick of the two spinners, finishing with 3 for 32. Duan Jansen picked up his first two wickets in international cricket to stifle any fightback from Namibia at the death. The Eagles ended with 163 on the board after 20 overs, enough for their bowlers to put up a fight. They went on to do a bit more than that.
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