CSK star Dewald Brevis wins maiden Player of the Match award for South Africa as they thump Zimbabwe in tri-series opener
Batting sensation Dewald Brevis hammered a 17-ball 41 as South Africa thumped Zimbabwe by six-wickets in the T20I tri-series opener in Harare on Monday (July 14). Chasing a below-par target of 142, the Proteas were in a spot of bother at 38/3 before Brevis combined with Rubin Hermann for a game-sealing partnership with the former being the aggressor.
The high impact performance from Brevis fetched him Player of the Match award, his first in international cricket. Despite walking into a slightly tricky situation in the chase, the right-hander seemed unfazed as he tore into Zimbabwe's attack. Skipper Sikandar Raza blundered by offering three overs of spin in a row, two from himself and an over from leggie Ryan Burl.
Brevis' spin-hitting ability is well-documented by now and if Zimbabwe weren't aware of it till now, they certainly learnt it the hard way at the Harare Sports Club. His first six of the afternoon came against Raza, a half-tracker that was dispatched in trademark Brevis style over mid-wicket for a maximum. While Hermann took the left-arm spin of Wellington Masakadza for three successive boundaries, his partner hit top gear soon with another massive six in Raza's next over.
It was the 11th over of the innings that virtually killed the game in South Africa's favour. Fresh from a handy cameo with the bat, Burl hoped to make an impact with the ball as well. Those dreams turned nightmarish soon from the third ball ball of the over.
A fractionally short delivery was slam-pulled to the deep mid-wicket fence before Brevis belted three sixes in a row. The first of those came off another meaty back foot pull before tonking two gargantuan ones down the ground. It was pace that undid Brevis eventually as a miscued a wide slower ball towards deep cover to be caught. By then, he had settled the contest in his team's favour.
Brevis has been in stellar form in professional cricket over the last 12 months. Initially, he had been in top form during South Africa's domestic season and then during IPL 2025, he was one of CSK's lone shining lights in another otherwise disappointing campaign for the five-time champions. He has begun his international career in the same vein with his range of powerhitting being the standout feature of his game.
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