Zimbabwe were given a hint of the task ahead when a young SA Invitation side beat then by five wickets under lights in Paarl.
It was their first day-night ‘pink-ball’ match, before the one-off four-day Test against South Africa, starting in Port Elizabeth on Boxing Day.
The Zimbabwe tail showed what was possible when they put on 136 runs for the last three wickets. They had resumed batting on the final day on 120-7, with Ryan Burl on 17 and Chamu Chibhabha on 4. Both went to well-deserved fifties until Shaun von Berg’s spin made the breakthrough, after 97 runs had been added for the eighth wicket.
Burl went for 51 off 108 balls, followed shortly afterwards by Chibhabha, bowled by Leus du Plooy, on 55 off 110.
The Zimbabweans were eventually bowled out for 243, an improvement on their first innings of 196, and offered the South Africans a target of 152 to win.
Ricardo Vasconcelos scored 57 off 51 balls to underpin the South African innings.
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
