Proteas to meet Black Caps in Tri-Series final
The result saw the Proteas bounce back from defeat against New Zealand on Wednesday.
Chasing Zimbabwe's target of 145, Hermann and captain Van der Dussen were the star performers, sharing a 106-run partnership.
They set the ship back on course after Zimbabwe's Tinotenda Maposa made early inroads in the first power play, removing openers Lhuan-dre Pretorius (4) and Reeza Hendricks (6).
Though he could not carry the Proteas over the line after being bowled by Richard Ngavara, Herman's 63 off 36 balls played a crucial role in getting the Proteas their second win of the series, which confirmed a place in the final on Saturday with a game in hand.
Van der Dussen finished with an impressive unbeaten 52 runs.
He was accompanied by Dewald Brevis at the end as the Proteas got home with 16 balls to spare.
Opener Brian Bennett belted 61 runs off 43 balls to help the home team to a respectable total of 144 for six.
Bennett was the mainstay of the innings, with most of the Chevrons' top and middle orders struggling to get going.
He paced his innings well, going at a good strike rate of 141.86 while scoring seven fours and three sixes.
The only other major contribution came via the unbeaten 36 of Ryan Burl, who fought against accurate Proteas death bowling while losing partners at the other end.
The Proteas pacers did not give Bennett and his opening partner Wessly Madhevere any room to breathe after they won the toss and bowled.
It took almost three overs for Zimbabwe to get the ball to the boundary.
And just when they were getting their groove on, Cobin Bosch had Madhevere caught at mid-off by Van der Dussen for 13.
Bosch continued with his persistent good length, leading to the dismissal of Clive Madande, who hit the ball straight back at him for a caught-and-bowled.
With Bennett and Sikandar Raza in the middle, Zimbabwe concluded the first power play on 29/2, but Raza had a short stay at the crease, being caught at deep square by Nandre Burger off the bowling of spinner Nqaba Peter's tossed up delivery.
Bennett stayed composed despite losing partners and, with Burl, put on a stand of 78 runs off 47 deliveries.
The 21-year-old Bennett progressed to his third career fifty before the Proteas bowlers regrouped to counter.
Ngidi outfoxed the dangerous Bennett with a slower ball, which bowled him in the 15th over.
In the next over, Burger removed Tashinga Musekiwa for a golden duck, caught in the deep by Dewald Brevis.
The Proteas' death bowlers mixed it up in the closing overs with yorkers and slower balls to restrict the Zimbabweans.
Bosch finished with economical figures of two for 16 runs.
SA play New Zealand on Tuesday (1pm) before taking on the Black Caps in the final on Saturday (1pm).
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Proteas top-order batsman Rubin Hermann insists that their T20 Tri-Series game against New Zealand at the Harare Sports Complex on Tuesday is not a dead rubber, with the sides having already made Saturday's final. For the South African camp, it will be more than a dress rehearsal for the final against a Black Caps team who are yet to taste defeat, but more of a chance to fix their error-ridden performance against the same side last week. South Africa paid the price for a sloppy display with ball and then bat, slumping to a 21-run defeat in that showing. The bowlers let the Black Caps batsmen off the hook as they recovered from 74/5 to register a score of 173/5. Despite some thrilling batting from the top order, the Proteas' chase lacked consistency with too many batsmen throwing their wickets away.
IOL News
an hour ago
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Proteas ready to set the record straight against New Zealand before tri-series final
South African all-rounder Corbin Bosch believes the Proteas will show greater ruthlessness in their second tri-series clash against New Zealand in Harare on Tuesday. Photo: Backpagepix Image: Backpagepix South Africa will get another crack at New Zealand when the two sides meet for the second time in the T20I tri-series at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday, starting at 1pm. Despite a 21-run defeat to the Black Caps in their first encounter, the Proteas have already secured a place in Saturday's final – also against the Black Caps – thanks to back-to-back wins over Zimbabwe. Tuesday's match now doubles up as both a tune-up for the final and a chance to right the wrongs from their earlier clash with the Kiwis. South Africa were in control early in that game, reducing New Zealand to 70/5, but a resilient 103-run partnership between Tim Robinson and Bevon Jacobs flipped the script. Their stand proved the decisive factor, leaving Rassie van der Dussen's side frustrated and ultimately short of the 174-run target. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ The world Test champions bounced back in style as they beat Zimbabwe by seven wickets in their last outing on Sunday, setting themselves up perfectly to have a second bite at the Black Caps. All-rounder Corbin Bosch admitted the team fell short in the field during the first encounter but remained confident they will bring a sharper edge to the rematch. 'It's something we pride ourselves on — to be ruthless at all stages of the game,' Bosch said in the build-up. 'We took our foot off the paddle, especially in the field towards the back end of that game, and gave away some easy runs, along with a costly dropped chance that may have swung the game even more in our favour. 'But we've addressed it, and I think in our last game we were pretty ruthless with the ball—and we will need to do more of the same.' After a string of strong performances, George Linde is all business as he gears up for the final group stage clash of the Tri-Series against New Zealand tomorrow. 🇿🇦🔥#WozaNawe — Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) July 21, 2025 The ongoing tour has also given head coach Shukri Conrad his first chance to hand extended opportunities to several fringe and promising young talents, allowing them to stake a claim for future selection. Bosch, along with emerging players like Rubin Hermann, Dewald Brevis, and Lhuandre Pretorius, has impressed so far and could play key roles in the remaining matches of the tournament. As one of the senior bowlers in the squad, Bosch believes the growing depth in South African cricket will only benefit the national team as they build towards the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be hosted in Sri Lanka and India. 'Shuks has tried to find some good combinations. The goal at the end of the day is the T20 World Cup coming up next year,' Bosch continued. 'I think he is trying to fine-tune all the combinations. This is his first white-ball tour and series as a coach, and he is trying to find his feet in that sense. 'He is meticulously planning how he wants to go about his teams and how he plans to set up his sides moving forward — obviously looking ahead to next year's tournament. He is trying to find the best combination of batters and bowlers, and he is doing a good job so far. Everyone is buying into his plans, and we are in a good space.'
The Herald
2 hours ago
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Black Caps encounter not just a practice game for Proteas
Proteas top-order batsman Rubin Hermann insists that their T20 Tri-Series game a gainst New Zealand at the Harare Sports Complex on Tuesday is not a dead rubber, with the sides having already made Saturday's final. For the SA camp, it will be more than a dress rehearsal for the final against a Black Caps team who are yet to taste defeat, but more of a chance to fix their error-ridden performance against the same side last week. SA paid the price for a sloppy display with ball and then bat, slumping to a 21-run defeat in that showing. The bowlers let the Black Caps batsmen off the hook as they recovered from 74/5 to register a score of 173/5. Despite some thrilling batting from the top order, the Proteas' chase lacked consistency with too many batsmen throwing their wickets away. Hermann said they wanted none of that on Tuesday and promised they would be firing on all cylinders as in the Zimbabwe match, which they won comfortably by seven wickets on Sunday. 'I think we have some momentum on our side. So, we have to keep up that momentum and just keep playing good cricket,' he said. 'I think we've done well. 'We were lacking in a few departments in the previous New Zealand game. 'So, I think we would like to rectify that and I'm sure if we play our best cricket we'll come out as the top side there as well. 'So just keep playing good cricket. Keep playing ruthless cricket. 'And then hopefully take the series on Saturday because that's the goal at the end of the day.' Though Herman is a new kid on the international cricketing block, he looked like he belonged, displaying a proper understanding and adaptation of the conditions in Harare against Zimbabwe, against whom he scored a brilliant 63 runs. He also shared a 106-run partnership with his captain, Rassie van der Dussen. He shared how difficult the Harare surface was for the top order with the new ball. The Proteas found themselves in a sticky situation with the bat, losing their openers within the first power play. 'I think one thing we identified is that the new ball is quite tough on these wickets because there is a bit of variable bounce and variable pace. 'The new ball is probably the toughest time to bat. 'There's a lot of batsmanship involved on these pitches with inconsistent bounce and pace. There's a shorter boundary. 'I played good cricket shots, that's the best way I can explain the success. 'It was quite nice because we both just knew if we just batted we would score quickly enough. 'We were both ruthless on bad balls and so on. Luckily, we got a couple of them. So, it just took good batsmanship,' he said. Daily Dispatch
