Seasoned Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza put up a magnificent performance with both bat and ball against Rwanda in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Region Qualifier. His exceptional performance earned him the Player of the Match award. This was his sixth Player of the Match award this year, which puts him on par with India’s Virat Kohli for having the most number of such awards.
Zimbabwe won against Rwanda by a significant margin of 144 runs. Although Zimbabwe had suffered a crushing defeat to Uganda, their chances of qualifying for the T20 World Cup were kept alive by an impressive performance against Rwanda. Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe’s experienced all-rounder, led the team’s charge with an exceptional display with both bat and ball.
Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza set the tone early on by scoring 58 off 36 balls. His knock includes six fours and four sixes. Tadiwanashe Marumani matched Raza’s performance by contributing 50 runs from 31 balls, which included three fours and three sixes. In the final stages of the innings, Zimbabwe successfully scored 215/4, with quickfire contributions from Ryan Burl (44* from 21) and Luke Jongwe (17* from 4).
Sikandar Raza kept up his impressive form and caused substantial damage with the ball. His efforts ensured that Rwanda could be near the target. While Richard Ngrava (3/11) and Blessing Muzarabani (1/10) did the early damage, Ryan Burl (2/7) dispatched the middle order with a brilliant performance.
Raza entered the game and finished it for Zimbabwe once more. He completed with a figure of 3/3 after demolishing the tail in the 19th over with a hat-trick, the first by a Zimbabwe men’s cricketer in this format.
Despite this victory, Zimbabwe remains in fourth place with only four points on the board and requires other outcomes to go their way to qualify for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Uganda is second in the standings with six points and a net run rate of 0.503.
The 37-year-old has had a spectacular 2022 and 2023 season, playing crucial parts in Zimbabwe’s memorable victories over Bangladesh in ODI and T20I series. He got a century against India before Zimbabwe defeated Australia in their backyard.
Sikandar Raza has been in superb form in recent years and is regarded as one of Zimbabwe’s greatest white-ball players. The Zimbabwe all-rounder is one of the few white-ball cricketers who consistently produces match-winning performances with both bat and ball.
