Sikandar Raza is Saviour Once Again!

The ICC World Cup 2019 qualifiers are on and the Super Sixes have now begun, after Netherlands, Nepal, Hong Kong and PNG were knocked out. Today, Zimbabwe played Ireland at home in a Super Sixes game, and what a game it turned out to be for the home side, who were once in a very tight spot.

Batting first, Zimbabwe lost wickets in a heap and were struggling at 139/7. However, if there was one batsman they wanted out there at the crease, it was that man Sikandar Raza, who has been their saviour countless times in the last year or so. He stood there, battled for long, and even though he was running out of partners, he ensured Zimbabwe got to a competitive total.

In a very well-paced innings, Raza scored 69(83)*, getting the team up to 211/9 in their 50 overs. While he personally didn’t believe this was going to be enough in their first Super Sixes game, the team thought they were in the driver’s seat. 4 fours and 3 sixes is what Raza scored and he managed this knock mostly due to Tendai Chisoro’s resistance in the 8th wicket stand.

Zimbabwe needed a few early wickets and that’s exactly what they got, reducing Ireland to 18/3 very early on in their innings. The run rate was good but Ireland kept losing wickets at regular intervals, eventually getting bowled out for 104 in 34.2 overs. Only Paul Stirling stood tall in this innings, scoring 41 but that wasn’t close to enough, as Zimbabwe won by 107 runs.

It was Tendai Chisoro who picked three of the first four wickets to fall, while Graeme Cremer cleaned up the tail, picking up 3 wickets as well. Raza was introduced to bowl as well, and he picked up 1/11 in his 4 overs. He was awarded the Man of the Match for his efforts and why not? What a great player he has been for the country of late, making sure he always keeps Zimbabwe’s flag flying high ??

Yesterday, Afghanistan beat the Windies and Scotland beat UAE in their respective Super Sixes games. Keep watching our Cricket Scoops section for more ICC 2019 World Cup qualifier results. More stuff to check out here:

Cheers!