Humbling and emotional moment, says Sikandar Raza after Zimbabwe move to Super 12 stage of T20 World Cup
Half-century by Craig Ervine and a blistering 40-run cameo by Sikandar Raza helped Zimbabwe defeat Scotland by five-wickets
Hobart [Australia], October 21 (ANI): Following his side’s five-wicket victory, Zimbabwe batter Sikandar Raza heaped praise on Scotland for making things tough for his side in the run chase and said that it is a humbling and emotional moment for the team as they secured a place in the Super 12 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2022.
Half-century by Craig Ervine and a blistering 40-run cameo by Sikandar Raza helped Zimbabwe defeat Scotland by five-wickets to book their place in the Super 12 stage of the T20 World Cup at Bellerive Oval on Friday.
“Full credit to Scotland for making things tough, it was pretty cut-throat. It is pretty satisfying and humbling, it is an emotional moment as well. Credit to the two youngsters for staying out till the end and finishing it. I told Sean [Williams] that give me 8-10 balls to get going, but you are going to be the one to win us this game. The numbers of our supporters may be small but if you hear the noise you won’t feel that way, they carry Zimbabwean cricket home and overseas as well. Very happy for them,” Sikandar Raza said in a post-match presentation.
Chasing a paltry target of 133 runs, Zimbabwe got off to a bad start as they lost their opener Regis Chakabva in the very first over of the match. In the very next over, Scotland gave another blow to Zimbabwe as Josh Davey dismissed Wesley Madhevere who had not opened his account.
Captain Craig Ervine and Sean Williams tried to play some big shots to ease some pressure and took the team’s total beyond 40 runs in under 8 overs. However, Zimbabwe’s momentum was broken as Williams was dismissed by Michael Leask after scoring 7 runs in 12 deliveries.
Williams’ wicket invited the star batter of the team, Sikandar Raza, to the crease. After 10 over Zimbabwe needed 78 runs. Raza shifted gears and slammed boundaries at regular intervals to keep the momentum in his team’s favour.
In the 14th over of the innings, Raza hammered Michael Leask for 13 runs and took the winning equation down to 37 runs in 35 balls. Craig Ervine brought up his much-needed half-century in 48 deliveries. Raza’s blistering stint on the crease came to an end as Josh Davey delivered a stunning bowl to dismiss the Zimbabwe batters for 40 of 23.
Scotland gave Zimbabwe a big blow as Mark Watt bagged the crucial wicket of well-set batter Ervine for 58 off 54, giving a twist to the game. Ryan Burl then came to the crease. Zimbabwe needed 6 runs in the last two overs to book their place in the Super 12 stage.
In the 18th over of the innings, Milton Shumba and Burl took two singles and on the third delivery of the over Burl slammed a beautiful four to take his team to the Super 12 stage with a 5-wicket win over Scotland. (ANI)
