Kaia keeps Zimbabwe's final hopes alive

Innocent Kaia smashed a career-best 72 as Zimbabwe beat Namibia by five wickets on Thursday to boost their hopes of reaching the final of the Twenty20 tri-series.

Zimbabwe chased down 157 with 11 balls to spare, moving above Namibia into second place with four points from four matches.

South Africa face Namibia in Friday’s final league game, with a Proteas victory sending Zimbabwe through to Sunday’s final.

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza, however, refused to look beyond Namibia’s remaining chance.

“We need to get there first,” Raza said.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful to Namibia as they have an equal chance to get there.

“If they play their best cricket and they manage to get that win over South Africa again then they deserve to play.”

Kaia, batting at number three, took charge of the chase after Ben Curran fell for five, sharing a 61-run second-wicket stand with Brian Bennett.

The 28-year-old struck eight fours and three sixes from 42 balls before falling for 72, with Zimbabwe 124-3.

Raza added 29 from 24 balls and, despite a brief wobble that saw Zimbabwe lose two wickets in two balls, Ryan Burl and Tadiwanashe Marumani completed the chase.

“It is great contributing significantly to a victory,” Kaia said after being named player of the match.

“I planned to be aggressive and take on the Namibian bowlers. It paid off.”

Earlier, Namibia were reduced to 25-3 after Zimbabwe opted to bowl, but captain Gerhard Erasmus produced a superb counter-attack.

Erasmus remained unbeaten on 88 from 48 balls, hitting eight fours and three sixes, while Alexander Busing-Volschenk made 29 in an 83-run fourth-wicket partnership.

The stand rescued Namibia from early trouble and helped them reach 156-6 from their 20 overs.

Brad Evans and Kundai Matigimu took two wickets each for Zimbabwe, while Raza and Blessing Muzarabani claimed one apiece.

Raza was pleased with the response after Zimbabwe’s 43-run defeat by South Africa earlier in the tournament.

“For the fans and for the country, we have given ourselves the best chance of playing in the final,” he said.

“I have seen the growth and improvement from the previous games.”

Raza added: “As a leader and as a captain for me… my boys went out and did really well today, which showed that these guys have a really high ceiling and constantly improving.”

Namibia, who have two points from three games, must beat South Africa on Friday to keep their final hopes alive.