Lhuan-dre Pretorius stars as South Africa beat Zimbabwe again to boost their three-series campaign

South Africa continued their strong run in the Namibia T20I Tri-Series with another convincing win over Zimbabwe to secure a comfortable 43-run victory in the fourth match at the Namibia Cricket Ground on Tuesday.Lhuan-dre Pretorius narrowly missed out on a maiden T20I century but hit a career-best 94 to secure South Africa’s second win over Zimbabwe in the tournament. The opener’s sensational knock came off just 51 balls and contained 12 fours and three sixes.Pretorius was named man of the match after helping South Africa post 185/7 before their bowlers finished the job by dismissing Zimbabwe for 142 in 17.4 overs.

Pretorius powers South Africa to 185

South Africa started in an aggressive manner with protorius anchoring the innings and playing a key role in two 50+ run partnerships for the first two wickets.He found an able partner in Dewald Brevis, who blasted 41 off 27 balls as the Proteas built a strong platform. Zimbabwe managed to fight back with regular wickets in the latter stages, but South Africa had already done enough damage to reach a competitive 185/7.Pretorius fell six runs short of his century, but the editorial insisted the team victory mattered more than his individual milestone.“Yeah, that’s fine. I’m glad we got over the line. Milestones will come and go, and yeah, it wasn’t meant to be today, but I was happy because we said we wanted to get to 200 at the 14-year mark, and I knew if I got the team to 200, I’d get to the milestone. But yeah, we’re here today, but we’re undefeated, I think that’s going to be a milestone. It’s good,” he said Pretorius.

Jansen, Fortune breaks down the hunt in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe needed 186 to win but struggled to keep pace after a promising start from Brian Bennett.Their powerplay was derailed by a two-wicket maiden from captain Bjorn Fortuin and South Africa struck again soon after the fielding restrictions ended.Duan Jansen delivered a decisive burst as he took three wickets in four balls over two overs to leave Zimbabwe in serious trouble.Captain Sikandar Raza offered some resistance with 45 off 33 balls while Newman Nyamhuri added 27 with some aggressive hitting. However, the pair could only lower the eventual defeat margin as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 142.Fortuin was the outstanding bowler and finished with 4/24 from 3.4 overs while Jansen took 3/21. The pair shared seven wickets between them as South Africa repeatedly struck at crucial moments.The result saw South Africa claim their second win over Zimbabwe in the tri-series, with Pretorius’ near-century and disciplined bowling performance securing another comprehensive win.