Zimbabwe beat Namibia by three runs in the third match of the tri-series on Wednesday. The hosts posted 156, but Zimbabwe chased it down for 159 to take the series lead. Both teams had been heading into this fixture on similar footing in the standings.
Namibia sit second with two points from two games, one win and one loss. Zimbabwe are third, also on two points but from three matches, with one victory and two defeats. The win extends their unbeaten run to two in the tournament.
It was a familiar pattern for Namibia lately. They lost to Zimbabwe 195-190 on August 31st, had won against South Africa 163-145 three days earlier, and before that lost to the Netherlands 193-251 on July 25th. Their last five matches show a team still finding consistency.
Zimbabwe's recent record reads similarly uneven. They beat Namibia 195-190 on August 31st, lost to South Africa 144-146 two days prior, and have been beaten by India twice in July. By then it was clear they would need to tighten up if they wanted to climb the table.
The result leaves Namibia with one win from two while Zimbabwe move to one win from three. The gap between them remains minimal, but the hosts will need to sharpen their bowling if they are to salvage anything from this series.