Mekelaye Mwatile, skipper Sune Wittmann, and Wilka Mwatile shine as Namibia stuns Zimbabwe with a comfortable victory.
The United Arab Emirates led by skipper Esha Oza defeated Zimbabwe led by skipper Chiedza Dhururu by five wickets in the 5th match of the Tri-series at the Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek. Skipper Esha Oza was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant all-round performance, scoring (84 off 65 balls), with the bat and returning with match figures (4-0-30-1) with the ball.
Namibia led by skipper Sune Wittmann was all set to face Zimbabwe led by skipper Chiedza Dhururu in the 6th match of the series at the Wanderers Cricket Ground, Windhoek. Namibia skipper Sune Wittmann won the toss and opted to field first. After being inserted to bat first, the Zimbabwe openers, Beloved Biza and Kelis Ndhlovu got their side off to a steady start with a 25-run opening partnership. The latter was found short of her crease to provide the first breakthrough for Namibia.
Modester Mupachikwa joined Beloved Biza at the crease and the duo stitched a crucial 42-run partnership for the 2nd wicket to take their side past the 50-run mark. Modester Mupachikwa was found short of her crease to provide the 2nd breakthrough for Namibia. Beloved Biza soon followed her back to the pavilion to provide the 3rd breakthrough for Namibia.
Zimbabwe lost a couple of wickets in quick succession to bring Namibia firmly back into the contest. Skipper Chiedza Dhururu joined Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 26-run partnership for the 6th wicket to take their side past the 100-run mark. Jurriene Diergaardt cleaned up the opposition skipper Chiedza Dhururu to provide a massive 6th breakthrough for her side.
Passionate Munorwei joined Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano at the crease and the duo stitched another crucial 18-run partnership for the 7th wicket to take their side close to the 130-run mark. Jurriene Diergaardt returned and picked up the wicket of Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano to provide the 7th breakthrough for Namibia. Zimbabwe ended up with a total of 133/7 in their quota of 20 overs.
Modester Mupachikwa (31 off 23 balls), Chipo Mugeri-Tiripano (31 off 24 balls), Beloved Biza (16 off 26 balls), skipper Chiedza Dhururu (13 off 15 balls), were the top performers with the bat for Zimbabwe. Jurriene Diergaardt (4-0-20-2), Wilka Mwatile (4-0-30-2), Mekelaye Mwatile (4-0-25-1), and Saima Tuhadeleni (4-0-17-0) were the top performers with the ball for Namibia.
Chasing a target of 134, the Namibia openers Yasmeen Khan and skipper Sune Wittmann got their side off to a solid start with a 46-run opening partnership. Passionate Munorwei picked up the wicket of Yasmeen Khan to provide the first breakthrough for Zimbabwe. Namibia lost a couple of wickets in quick succession to bring Zimbabwe firmly back into the contest.
Edelle van Zyl joined skipper Sune Wittmann at the crease and the duo stitched a much-needed 43-run partnership for the 4th wicket to take their side past the 100-run mark. Beloved Biza struck twice in two balls to revive Zimbabwe’s hopes of defending the total. Mekelaye Mwatile joined Edelle van Zyl at the crease and the duo took their side over the line with an unbeaten 32-run, 6th-wicket partnership. Namibia got over the line with five wickets in hand and three balls to spare.
Skipper Sune Wittmann (56 off 48 balls), Mekelaye Mwatile (23* off 9 balls), Yasmeen Khan (22 off 25 balls), and Edelle van Zyl (17* off 19 balls), were the top performers with the bat for Namibia. Beloved Biza (3-0-22-3), Passionate Munorwei (2-0-12-2), Kelis Ndhlovu (4-0-22-0), and Kudzai Chigora (3.3-0-17-0) were the top performers with the ball for Zimbabwe.
Mekelaye Mwatile was awarded the Player of the Match for her brilliant all-round performance, returning with match figures (4-0-25-1) with the ball. Apart from her exploits with the ball, she also chipped in with a power-packed cameo (23* off 9 balls) with the bat. She played a crucial role in helping her side get over the line in the final over of the run chase.