Namibia stunned South Africa with a historic four-wicket victory in a Twenty20 International, the two cricketing nations’ first meeting. The one-off 20-over match was arranged to mark the opening of the new Namibia Cricket Ground in Windhoek, and it ended in a thrilling finish.

Namibia needed 11 runs from the last over to reach its target of 135. Zane Green, his team’s top scorer, stayed unbeaten with 30 points from 23 deliveries. He started the final over with a six off Andile Simelane’s opening ball, then raced for four runs with Ruben Trumpelmann to tie the score. With the game on the line, Green hit a four over midwicket to secure a remarkable victory for the Associate nation.

South Africa selected a slightly improvised team, with several key players in Pakistan, for an impending Test series. The team did, however, welcome back wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock for his first international appearance since June 2024. His return was short-lived, as Trumpelmann caught him off skipper Gerhard Erasmus for one in the opening over.

The Proteas struggled throughout, losing wickets at regular intervals before falling to 82-6 in the 13th over. Despite a lower-order resistance led by Jason Smith, who struck 31 off 30 balls, and a late effort from Gerald Coetzee, South Africa could only manage 134-8.