Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. THE curtain comes down on the thrilling ICC T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier this afternoon as hosts Zimbabwe lock horns with regional rivals Namibia in the final at Harare Sports Club.
Both teams have already secured their tickets to the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka following convincing semi-final victories on Thursday, but the silverware and regional bragging rights remain on the line.
Zimbabwe punched their ticket with a commanding seven-wicket win over Kenya, thanks to a blistering half-century from opener Brian Bennett.
Namibia, meanwhile, overcame Tanzania by 63 runs, riding on the all-round brilliance of JJ Smit and the composed batting of skipper Gerhard Erasmus, who steadied the ship after a rocky start.
The final promises to be an electric affair, pitting two sides yet to taste defeat in the tournament.
Zimbabwe is looking to cap off a successful campaign with a trophy on home soil, while Namibia will be eager to spoil the party and silence the expected vocal home crowd.
The Eagles will take confidence from the recent three-match T20I series in Bulawayo, which Zimbabwe won 2-1, with Namibia claiming the final, consolation win.
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza is prioritising the trophy, even with qualification sealed.
He hinted at potential changes due to player “niggles”, but emphasised the winning mentality driving his team.
“So I cannot answer the changes part,” Raza said.
“Of course, there are boys who are carrying niggles. So we will assess them on the day of the game.
“But as a captain I always speak to the player. If he thinks he can give me 100%. Then I will always back him. All of us carry niggles.
“But once we go out there, we just put our heart on the sleeve, and play for Zimbabwe with a lot of pride.”
He added: “For us, there is a trophy to win. And we are going to do our best to win the trophy…
“We want to win the trophy and we have a very important match, so we don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves.
“We want to try and win that as well. Because we want to build a happy and a winning changing room.”
With the pressure of qualification off, both teams are expected to play with freedom, setting the stage for a spectacular final act to the African qualifiers.
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