Namibia create T20I history after beating South Africa in last ball thriller

Namibia stunned world cricket as they defeated South Africa by four wickets in a last-ball thriller, where Quinton de Kock made a comeback in international cricket but failed to set a good memory. 

It was the first international cricket match at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek, where Donovan Ferreira-led South Africa chose to bat first after winning the toss in the only T20I in the tour on Saturday (October 11). In the sold-out stadium, after South Africa were restricted to 134/8 in 20 overs, Namibia chased down the target on the final ball of the match after losing six wickets.

Quinton de Kock scored only one run

South Africa's innings struggled from the powerplay, where they managed to score 33/2. Quinton de Kock played as a wicketkeeper and opening batter, but was dismissed on the final ball of the first over after scoring only one run in four balls. Jason Smith scored the highest runs in that innings with 31, while the opener Lhuan-dre Pretorius (22) and Rubin Hermann (23) were the other batters to score 20+ runs in that innings. At the late, Gerald Coetzee had a crucial cameo of 12 from just six balls with two fours, while Bjorn Fortuin scored 19 not off 21 balls.

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Namibia beat South Africa: Ruben Trumpelmann was Namibia's hero with the ball and bat

Among the hosts' bowlers, Ruben Trumpelmann took three wickets with the bowling figures of 4-0-28-3, while the international cricket debutant Max Heingo got two wickets with the bowling figures of 3-0-32-3.

In reply, Namibia scored 46/2 at the end of six overs, as they got a positive start. While the opener Louren Steenkamp scored 13 runs, skipper Gerhard Erasmus scored 21 runs. Although Namibia were losing wickets at regular intervals, they were also maintaining a healthy run-rate to handle the pressure. JJ Smit scored 13 runs, while Malan Kruger scored 18 runs. Later, Zane Green scored 30 not out off 23 balls with two fours and one six, while Ruben Trumpelmann scored 11 not out off eight balls with one four. For his effective all-round performances, Ruben Trumpelmann won the Player of the Match award.

In the final over of the match, Namibia required 11 runs, and Andile Simelane delivered that over, who then had the bowling figures of 3-0-14-2. Green welcomed the right-arm fast bowler with a sixer on the first delivery, and Namibia later required one run to win in the last two balls. While the fifth ball of the over had a dot, Green successfully finished the game for Namibia with a four on the final ball of the match.

While South Africa second time suffered a T20I defeat against an ICC Associate member, after the Netherlands beat them in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2022, they became the fourth victim among ICC Full members who have suffered a T20I loss against Namibia, after Ireland, Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka.