South Africa beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets with 16 balls to spare in the fourth T20I of the tri-series, played at Harare Sports Club on 20 June. Rubin Hermann and captain Rassie van der Dussen starred with fifties in the run chase of 145. Corbin Bosch stood out with the ball for the Proteas, picking up two crucial wickets.
South Africa won the toss and opted to field first. Zimbabwe managed only one significant partnership – a 78-run stand from just 48 balls between Ryan Burl and Brian Bennett. Bennett was the top scorer for Zimbabwe with 61 runs off 43 balls at a strike rate of 141.86, including seven fours and three sixes. Burl contributed 36 off 31 balls, hitting two fours and one six. Apart from them, no other batter managed to reach 20.
In reply, the Proteas had a shaky start and were reduced to 22/2 at one stage. Van der Dussen and Hermann then put on a match-winning partnership of 106 runs from 68 balls to take South Africa close to victory. Hermann struck 63 off 36 balls at a strike rate of 175, with three fours and four sixes. Van der Dussen remained unbeaten on 52 off 41 balls, including six fours. Hermann was named Player of the Match for his impressive knock.
With this defeat, Zimbabwe are eliminated from the tri-series. South Africa, who were beaten by New Zealand in an earlier round-robin match, will face them again on Tuesday ahead of the final.
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