Namibia stunned South Africa by 18 runs in the opening match of the Tri-nation T20I series at the Namibia Cricket Ground, Windhoek, on Friday.
Chasing a target of 164, the Proteas could only manage 145 for 9.
Dewald Brevis (75), Duan Jansen (25 not out) and Rubin Hermann (12) were the only three South African batter who had double digit scores. Ruben Trumpelmann and JJ Smit each took three wickets as the host extended its head-to-head advantage over the Proteas to 2-0.
South African captain Bjorn Fortuin won the toss and elected to field. However, his bowlers could not justify his decision as Namibian openers Louren Steenkamp (41) and Jan Frylinck (60) amassed 84 runs in 9.4 overs.
After Fortuin dismissed Steenkamp, the host didn’t have another big partnership but useful contributions from skipper Gerhard Erasmus (19), Alexander Busing-Volschenk (13), and Trumpelmann (12) took Namibia to a competitive total of 163 for 9.
South Africa’s chase didn’t get the ideal start as both openers Jordan Hermann (7) and Lhuan-dre Pretorius (9) both departed inside the first four overs.
While Brevis continued to attack, South Africa kept losing wickets from the other end. At 86 for 5, Jansen joined Brevis in the middle.
The duo added 47 runs to the team’s score and brought the equation down to 31 runs required off the last 13 balls when Trumpelmann removed Brevis.
Erasmus conceded only three runs in the penultimate over while also picking Fortuin’s wicket.
Jansen scored eight off the first two balls of the final over before Smit found the ideal line and length to end any hopes of a miracle for the visitor.
South Africa will face Zimbabwe in its next match on Saturday.
Published on Aug 28, 2026
