Namibia and Zimbabwe have secured their respective qualification spots for next year's T20 World Cup 2026 tournament set to be co-hosted by India & Sri Lanka. Both teams enter the showpiece event via securing in the Africa Regional Final semifinals in Harare. Namibia beat Tanzania in the first semi-final, while Zimbabwe defeated Kenya in the second semi-final, claiming the two places allotted for the tournament tentatively scheduled to begin on February 07 in 2026.
Notably, the semis were high-pressure games, with the winners progressing to the World Cup. There were slight jitters in Namibia's batting before being steadily recovering, while Zimbabwe cruised to an easy win, sending a strong warning to other teams ahead of the event. For the unversed, Namibia recovered from a shaky 41/4 by the fifth over against Tanzania through an 88-run partnership between JJ Smit and Gerhard Erasmus. The latter anchored the middle order with a fine 55 off 41 balls, while Smit remained unbeaten on 61 off 43 balls.
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Not only with bat in hand, Smit was also terrific with the ball as the all-rounder took three wickets for just 16 runs in four overs.
Zimbabwe mark return to T20 World Cup after missing in 2024 WC
On the other hand, Zimbabwe, on account of beating Kenya, ensured a World Cup spot after missing the T20 WC 2024 event. Brian Bennett struck a blazing 51 off 25 balls to set up a win in a canter. Now, only three spots remain from the Asia-East Pacific (EAP) Qualifier for the next year's showpiece event.
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