South Africa 119 for 5 (Klaasen 44, Chatara 2-12) beat Zimbabwe 117 (Chigumbura 27, Ngidi 3-19, Phehlukwayo 2-22) by five wickets
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa slipped to 58 for 4 on a surface that made strokeplay very difficult and were thankful for Heinrich Klaasen’s 44 as their largely untested middle-order wobbled. A spirited performance from Zimbabwe’s bowlers ensured that South Africa were made to toil for the result, but the total was never going to be quite enough to force an upset. Overcoming a few nervous moments, stand-in captain JP Duminy guided his team to a five-wicket win to go 1-0 up in the three-match series.
As it happened, when the lunch interval arrived it was the South Africa who were in danger of buckling under pressure, and they were happy to leave the field to lift the lid on what had become a cauldron of unlikely tension. South Africa’s batsmen had come out swinging at Zimbabwe, but Dean Elgar was too early into his leg-side biff and flapped a leading edge to third man in the fourth over before Reeza Hendricks was beaten by a delivery from Wellington Masakadza that hung in the stiff breeze, drifting in and then fizzing past a defensive poke to rattle the stumps.
The game might have been much closer had Zimbabwe managed to ring a little more out of their batsmen. Five of the top six were caught in the slips, tentative footwork and uncertainty outside off quickly unravelling against the extra bounce off the track. Kagiso Rabada bowled a little inside himself but still snapped up two middle-order wickets, including the big one of Brendan Taylor. Andile Phehlukwayoalso struck vital blows, picking up Hamilton Masakadza and Sean Williams in consecutive overs, while Imran Tahir’s variations helped deal with the lower order. Lungi Ngidi, however, was the pick of the attack.
Ngidi started the morning by having Solomon Mire caught by Hendricks at slip – one of three catches Hendricks took in the position – and then returned to bully Jarvis from the crease with a lifter that hurried the batsman. He then quickly wrapped up the innings when Chigumbura chipped an off-cutter to mid-on. Chigumbura top-scored with 27 out of Zimbabwe’s 117 in 34.1 overs. That was never going to be enough to overcome South Africa’s middle order, even one short of international experience.