Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine very impressed with Sikandar Raza’s match winning bowling performance against Pakistan

Zimbabwe cricket team scripted history as they defeated Pakistan by a run in their second group stage game in the super 12 of the t20 World Cup in Australia. It was a sensational outing for the Africans in Perth as they defended 130 to bag their first win of the Super 12.

Zimbabwe captain Craig Ervine was very impressed with his bowlers as he thought that they did a fantastic job to constantly pick wickets and created pressure despite putting a below par total on board. He lauded the performance of Pakistan born all rounder Sikandar Raza who has been their main man with ball in hand. He turned the match upside down with three scalps. Things were in control for Pakistan when Shan Masood was playing with authority but Raza dismissed him and created and opening in the game as he also picked up the big wicket of Shadab Khan and Haider Ali.

“After our batting performance we thought we were maybe 20-25 short, but I thought our seamers hit their straps early on. (Sikandar) Raza again came to the party as he always does and picked up a few crucial wickets in the middle there,” said Ervine.

If the scenes after victory were not enough to highlight how special it was for Zimbabwe, Ervine shared how coming to the Super 12 and now winning a match against Pakistan is a big moment for Zimbabwean Cricket as it will motivate kids back home to pick up the sport. He also shared how they were not satisfied with qualification to the Super 12s as they wanted to compete and not just make numbers and they have done just that.

“So special, especially for the work we did in order to get into the Super 12s. We did not want our tournament to end there. We wanted to come in and play some outstanding cricket against the top teams and we did that exceptionally well today,” the Zimbabwean skipper added.

At one stage when Zimbabwe were batting it felt like they were going to end up below 100 runs but a late flourish from Bard Evans and a handy knock from Sean Williams earlier guided them to 130 which gave their bowlers something to defend and they did what was asked with a sensational display of using the best of their resources.

While Raza was excellent through the middle overs, it was the three fast bowlers who kept things in order. Blessing Muzarabani picked up the crucial wicket of Mohammed Rizwan whereas Brad Evans delivered under pressure in the last over. Lastly Richard Ngarva also kept it tight and gave nothing away to the Pakistani batters. Hence it was a complete team performance with some protagonists stepping up when it was needed.

After a wash out in the first game against South Africa and now a win against Pakistan, Zimbabwe are in a good spot after two games. They will next face Bangladesh and after this they will be more confident to take them head on. But surely exciting times ahead for Zimbabwean Cricket as they look to make a mark in the T20 World Cup in Australia.