South Africa defeated Zimbabwe by five wickets in the opening match of the T20 Tri-Series in Harare. Dewald Brevis played a blistering knock during the chase of 142 and was named the Player of the Match.
After being asked to bat first, Zimbabwe lost opener Wessly Madhevere early for just one run. However, Brian Bennett looked promising with a 30-run knock. At No. 3, wicketkeeper Clive Madande couldn’t contribute much, but skipper Sikandar Raza held the innings together with a fantastic unbeaten 54 off 38 balls. Ryan Burl chipped in with a valuable 29 runs, helping Zimbabwe finish at 141/6 in their 20 overs.
For the Proteas, George Linde starred with the ball, returning figures of 3 for 10. Lungi Ngidi, Nandre Burger, and Nqabayomzi Peter took one wicket each.
South Africa’s chase began poorly as Lhuan-dre Pretorius was dismissed for a golden duck. Reeza Hendricks (11 off 9) and captain Rassie van der Dussen (16 off 13) also failed to make significant contributions, reducing the side to 38/3 in 5.4 overs.
However, Dewald Brevis and Rubin Hermann stitched together a crucial 72-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Brevis hammered 41 off just 17 balls at a strike rate of 241.17, while Hermann made a composed 45 off 37 deliveries.
In the end, Corbin Bosch remained unbeaten on 23 off 15 balls as South Africa chased down the target in just 15.5 overs with five wickets in hand.
“It Was Super Fun” – Brevis on His Match-Winning Knock
During the post-match presentation, Brevis shared his mindset going into the innings: “When I made my mark there, it was a big privilege to represent South Africa again, and that was what was going through my head. It was super fun, and I am glad we won. I am just watching the ball and wherever the ball goes, it needs to go, irrespective of the size of the boundary.”
Speaking about his partnership with Hermann, he added: “It was quite clear. We were in an interesting position but we were only a few boundaries away. There was no need to rush anything or go searching — plan was to keep it simple and play our game.”
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