On Friday, Proteas' opening batsman, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, scored his first century in the T20I match against Namibia. Thanks to this, South Africa was able to overcome the energetic resistance of the Namibian team and win by 11 runs in the T20I Three-match series on Namibian cricket grounds in Windhoek.
The Proteas team looked like they were heading for a very large score after Namibia won the toss and decided to bat. Pretorius and Connor Esterhuizen provided an impressive 156 runs from the first pair of batsmen.
Esterhuizen started aggressively, scoring 88 runs off just 40 balls, including eight sixes, while Pretorius provided him with equally strong support. Proteas quickly amassed 70 runs without loss during the powerplay phase and reached 127/0 by mid-innings, with Esterhuizen scoring 73 and Pretorius scoring 47.
Esterhuizen reached the fifty-run barrier by hitting his fifth six, but his brilliant innings ended when he was dismissed by spinner Jan Balt, marking his highest score in T20I. Meanwhile, Pretorius continued to show outstanding form after previously scoring 94 runs against Zimbabwe in the series. He reached his third fifty in T20I in the 11th over and then went on to score a triple-digit total, making 101 runs off 53 balls, including five fours and eight sixes.
South Africa finished with a score of 228/4, although the late change of pace and bowling length from Namibia prevented the visitors from reaching a threatening total of 250 runs. The question remains whether the Proteas batting can defend such a substantial score, considering that the leading series player, Duane Jansen, rested for this match.