T20 World Cup: Sikandar Raza restores Zimbabwe's pride, albeit in losing cause

New Delhi, Sunday – Sikandar Raza’s audacious all-round display offered Zimbabwe a slice of redemption as they pushed South Africa to the brink before falling by five wickets in a pulsating Super Eight clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.

Raza, who had challenged his side to “earn respect” after back-to-back bowling nightmares in which they leaked 510 runs against West Indies and India, produced the performance of the tournament so far from a Zimbabwean perspective. First, with the bat, he muscled 73 off 43 deliveries, striking eight fours and four sixes to lift his team to 153 for seven after early wickets had stalled the innings. Then, defending a modest total, he ripped out Quinton de Kock in the opening over and later added the scalps of Aiden Markram and Dewald Brevis to finish with three for 29.

The early strikes left South Africa wobbling at 93 for four at the halfway stage, the required run-rate creeping past eight. Yet Tristan Stubbs, unbeaten on 21, and George Linde, who crashed an unbeaten 30 from 21 balls, calmly collected 53 without further loss to seal victory with 13 balls to spare and keep South Africa’s perfect record intact at seven wins from seven.

Courtney Walsh, Zimbabwe’s bowling consultant, had insisted on the eve of the contest that the group-stage upsets over Sri Lanka and Australia should not be forgotten. Raza’s solo brilliance ensured those words did not ring hollow, even as South Africa set up a semi-final date with New Zealand at Eden Gardens on March 4.

Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 153/7 in 20 overs (Sikandar Raza 73; Kwena Maphaka 2/21) South Africa 154/5 in 17.5 overs (Dewald Brevis 42, Ryan Rickelton 31; Sikandar Raza 3/29)