Skipper Sune Wittmann, Arrasta Diergaardt and Saima Tuhadeleni shine with the ball before Sylvia Shihepo and wicket-keeper batter Merczerly Gorases hold their nerve to stun Zimbabwe in a low-scoring thriller.
Zimbabwe women led by skipper Chiedza Dhururu defeated the United Arab Emirates led by skipper Esha Oza by three wickets in an edge-of-the-seat, low-scoring thriller in the 2nd match of the series at the Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek.
Namibia led by skipper Sune Wittmann was up against Zimbabwe led by skipper Chiedza Dhururu in the 3rd match of the series at the Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek. Namibia skipper Sune Wittmann won the toss and opted to field first in the 3rd match of the series. After being inserted to bat first, the Zimbabwe openers Kelis Ndhlovu, and Modester Mupachikwa got their side off to a steady start with a 22-run opening partnership.
Sylvia Shihepo picked up the wicket of Kelis Ndhlovu to provide Namibia with the first breakthrough. Beloved Biza soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for Namibia. Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano joined Modester Mupachikwa at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 53-run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take their side close to the 100-run mark. Skipper Sune Wittmann picked up the wicket of Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano to provide the 3rd breakthrough for her side.
Zimbabwe eventually ended up with a total of 101/8 in their quota of overs. They suffered a collapse as they lost their last five wickets for just 25 runs. Modester Mupachikwa (39 off 55 balls), Kelis Ndhlovu (16 off 13 balls), and Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano (16 off 21 balls) were the top performers with the bat for Zimbabwe. Skipper Sune Wittmann (3-0-12-2), Saima Tuhadeleni (4-1-12-1), Wilka Mwatile (4-0-24-1), Jurriene Diergaardt (1-0-5-2), and Sylvia Shihepo (2-0-12-1) were the top performers with the ball for Namibia.
Chasing a target of 102, the Namibian openers Yasmeen Khan and skipper Sune Wittmann got their side off to a brisk start with a 14-run opening partnership. Christine Mutasa cleaned up Yasmeen Khan to provide the first breakthrough for Zimbabwe. Wilka Mwatile soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 2nd breakthrough for Zimbabwe. Wicket-keeper batter Merczerly Gorases joined skipper Sune Wittmann at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 17-run partnership for the 3rd wicket.
Kelis Ndhlovu cleaned up the opposition skipper Sune Wittmann to provide the big 3rd breakthrough for her side. Jurriene Diergaardt soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 4th breakthrough for Zimbabwe. Edelle van Zyl stitched a much-needed 23-run partnership for the 5th wicket to take their side past the 50-run Mark, alongside Gorases. Josephine Nkomo picked up the wicket of Edelle van Zyl to provide the 5th breakthrough for her side.
Sylvia Shihepo joined wicket-keeper batter Merczerly Gorases at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 18-run partnership for the 6th wicket to take their side closer to the target. However, there was a twist in the tale as Beloved Biza struck twice in the 18th over of the run chase to bring Zimbabwe storming back into the contest. Irene van Zyl joined Sylvia Shihepo at the crease and the duo held their nerve to take their side over the line with an unbeaten 18-run partnership for the 8th wicket.
Wicket-keeper batter Merczerly Gorases (27 off 47 balls), Sylvia Shihepo (23* off 14 balls), Edelle van Zyl (11 off 16 balls), and Sune Wittmann (10 off 17 balls), were the top performers with the bat for Namibia. They eventually got over the line with three wickets in hand and five balls to spare. Lindokuhle Mabhero (4-0-14-1), Kelis Ndhlovu (4-0-17-1), Josephine Nkomo (4-0-21-1), and Kudzai Chigora (3-0-16-1), and Beloved Biza (1.1-0-9-2), were the top performers with the ball for Zimbabwe.
The Namibian skipper Sune Wittmann was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant spell (3-0-12-2) with the ball and apart from that, she also contributed (10 off 17 balls) with the bat. She played a crucial role in helping her side stun Zimbabwe in the 3rd match of the series.