South Africa
Zimbabwe
South Africa will face Zimbabwe in the fourth match of the Namibia T20I Tri-Series at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek. South Africa will enter this game with 3 wins from their last 5 matches, while Zimbabwe will look to stop a 5-match losing run.
Bjorn Fortuin will lead South Africa, while Sikandar Raza will captain Zimbabwe. South Africa have the stronger recent head-to-head record, having won 4 of their last 5 meetings, with one match ending without a result. The Proteas will also take confidence from winning all 4 of those completed games while chasing.
Zimbabwe will need a strong start with both bat and ball to challenge South Africa. South Africa will be expected to handle the chase well if they get a manageable target, making them the stronger side in this match.
Brian Bennett has played a key role at the top of Zimbabwe’s batting order over the last year and will surpass 26 runs in this match.
The betting tip is...
Brian Bennett - Over 25.5 runs
61 %
39 %
South AfricaZimbabweSouth Africa’s batting will be led by Dewald Brevis, who will have scored 150 runs in two matches at a strike rate of 182.92. He will have hit 75 in each innings, with 2 fifties, 11 fours and 11 sixes. The next-best batter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, has scored 31 runs at a strike rate of 140.90, while Jordan Hermann and Duan Jansen have scored in the 20s.
Overall, the SA batting unit will need to improve. Prenelan Subrayen and Duan Jansen have taken five wickets each in two matches. Bjorn Fortuin has claimed 3 wickets in 2 games and has been the most economical bowler. Kwena Maphaka, Eathan Bosch and Nqaba Mokoena will provide further bowling options.
Brevis, Jansen and Subrayen are the key players in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Lhuan-dre Pretorius (wk), Jordan Hermann, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Connor Esterhuizen, Rubin Hermann, Eathan Bosch, Duan Jansen, Bjorn Fortuin (c), Prenelan Subrayen and Kwena Maphaka
Zimbabwe’s batting will have been led by Brian Bennett, who will have scored 34 runs in their only match. Tadiwanashe Marumani will have made 30 runs at a strike rate of 230, while Ben Curran will also have batted at a 200 strike rate against South Africa.
Dion Myers and Brad Evans will have been other key batting options. Bennett and Sikandar Raza will have been the main batters, with Bennett having scored 1,251 T20I runs for Zimbabwe in the last year.
Zimbabwe’s bowling unit will have struggled against South Africa, with Brad Evans, Blessing Muzarabani and Newman Nyamhuri taking one wicket each. Evans and Muzarabani will have been the main bowling threats, having taken 48 and 36 T20I wickets respectively for Zimbabwe in the last year.
Bennett, Raza and Evans are the key players in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (c), Ryan Burn, Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Brad Evans, Graeme Cremer, Newman Nyamhuri and Blessing Muzarabani
South Africa will start as the stronger side, but Zimbabwe will have enough firepower to make this a competitive contest. Brian Bennett will be a key player at the top of the order after scoring 34 runs in Zimbabwe’s previous match against South Africa. He has 1251 runs in the last 31 T20I innings at an average of 46.33, displaying his long-term form for Zimbabwe.
South Africa will have the edge overall, especially after comfortably chasing 145 in the previous meeting. However, Zimbabwe’s batters will be capable of putting pressure on the Proteas if they get off to a good start. Bennett’s ability to score quickly will make him one of Zimbabwe’s main batting threats, and he will have a good chance of making a substantial contribution.
