Dewald Brevis made sure he didn’t miss a minute of the second rugby test between the Boks and the All Blacks when he smashed South Africa to a seven-wicket victory over Zimbabwe in their T20I match at the Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek on Saturday.
South Africa are now up and running in the Tri-Series tournament after losing their opening match against hosts Namibia on Friday.
When Brevis struck his seventh four to go with six sixes to win his team the match in the 14th over, the powerhouse batter had bludgeoned 75 in 32 balls as South Africa hunted down their victory target of 145 with 38 balls to spare. On Friday, he wasn't able to save the Proteas from defeat despite scoring 75 in 50 balls, but this time there was no question of the Proteas coming second.
He came to the crease in the fourth over when Jordan Hermann was dismissed for a quickfire 20 in 13 balls and immediately announced his intentions as he clobbered his first ball from Newman Nyamhuri over mid-off for six. Lhuan-dre Pretorius (22) and Tony de Zorzi (15) briefly kept him company, but it was essentially a one-man show.
Zimbabwean legspinner Graeme Cremer felt the hurt in the 12th over as Brevis crushed him for two sixes, the first of which was his fifth overall that enabled him to pass his 50 in 24 balls. 17 runs came off that over and he and Jordan’s brother, Rubin Hermann, quickly put the match to bed.
PLAYER OF THE MATCH
Not surprisingly, Brevis was made player of the match. Commenting afterwards, he said: “It's great to get off to a win, the boys showed improvement, and that was great to see. I'm enjoying it (here), it's a lovely ground.” Skipper Fortuin said it was "very nice to bounce back" but added that there were areas in which the team still wanted to improve. "Brevis is the best hitter of the ball that I've seen in a very long time."
Earlier, South Africa’s spinners, skipper Bjorn Fortuin and Prenelan Subrayen, slowed Zimbabwe’s momentum after a bright start as the Proteas restricted their neighbours to 144 for eight.
Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza won the toss and opted to bat first, and he was well served by openers Brian Bennett and Ben Curran, who slammed 45 in five overs. Duan Jansen was belted for 15 in his opening over while debutant Eathan Bosch went for 16 in his first two overs.
Jansen was whisked out of the attack after his first over but returned in the sixth to claim the first wicket when Curran was well held by Tony de Zorzi at mid-on. Still, Zimbabwe would have been happy to reach 55 for one in the power play and 76 for one at the halfway mark.
But the SA spinners were beginning to exert control, and Fortuin claimed the second wicket as Dion Myers swept him to deep midwicket to depart for 17 in 17 balls.
His spin twin, Subrayen, then grabbed the key wicket of Bennett, who yorked himself coming down the pitch, losing his off-stump. The opener had struck 34 in 35 balls, including four fours and a six.
It was now the turn of Bosch, on debut, to take his first wicket, claiming the scalp of Raza, brilliantly caught by a diving Jordan Hermann at extra cover. The innings was now falling away fast, but an entertaining 30 in 13 balls by Tadiwanashe Marumani, including three sixes and a four, enabled Zimbabwe to post a moderate total.
Subrayen claimed 2-27 off his four overs while Fortuin took 1-25. Bosch and Kwena Maphaka took a wicket each while Jansen was the most successful but also the most expensive as he ended with 3-45.
SOUTH AFRICA: Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Jordan Hermann, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Connor Esterhuizen (wk), Rubin Hermann, Eathan Bosch, Duan Jansen, Bjorn Fortuin (capt), Prenelan Subrayen, Kwena Maphaka
ZIMBABWE: Brian Bennett, Ben Curran, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burn, Wessly Madhevere, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Brad Evans, Graeme Cremer, Newman Nyamhuri, Blessing Muzarabani