New Delhi, March 1 – Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza smashed a brilliant 73 off 43 balls to guide his team to 153/7 against South Africa in their Super Eights clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday.
On a pitch with some short grass, Raza entertained the 17,500 fans with his excellent timing and placement of the ball. He hit 12 of Zimbabwe’s 13 boundaries during his innings, which lasted from overs 5-17. Apart from his innings, only wicketkeeper Clive Madande offered some resistance with an unbeaten 26 off 20 balls.
It was because South Africa's bowlers kept the rest of the team in check, with teenage left-arm quick Kwena Maphaka impressing with 2-21 while Corbin Bosch chipped in with 2-40. With Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, and Marco Jansen rested ahead of the semi-finals, the Proteas' fringe players seized the opportunity to make an impact.
Electing to bat first, Tadiwanashe Marumani amused everyone by attempting a one-handed reverse sweep. Although he didn't connect with the ball after clipping George Linde on the first ball, Marumani didn't last long as he lost his leg-stump while trying to hit Kwena Maphaka across the line.
The in-form Brian Bennett enthralled everyone with his excellent timing on his lofted whip and pull off Linde and Lungi Ngidi respectively. But Anrich Nortje dismissed him with a 145.8 kph delivery which Bennett could only loft to mid-off. With Dion Myers put on a stern test by Maphaka, Raza immediately got going with a streaky edge on a drive going past backward point for four off Corbin Bosch.
This was followed by Raza pulling and driving Bosch for six and four, as Zimbabwe closed the powerplay at 45/2. When Nortje returned in the eighth over, Raza was quick to drive and flat-bat him for a four and six, before slog-sweeping and sweeping Aiden Markram for the same result.
But he was steadily losing support from the other end – Myers top-edged a pull to mid-wicket off Linde, while Ngidi's slower ball trapped Ryan Burl lbw and Bosch castled Tony Munyounga with a scrambled seam delivery uprooting the leg-stump. Raza, though, marched forward to tickle Maphaka for four, before bringing up his fifty in 29 balls by getting a single through square leg.
Raza’s assault continued when he crisply drove a slower ball from Nortje through the extra cover fence for four, before hammering another drive off Ngidi for four and making room to send a low full toss from Bosch through the same region for another boundary.
The crowd again were sent into a frenzy when Raza nailed a pull on a short ball from Maphaka over mid-wicket for six, while Clive Madande opened his account by sweeping Bosch for four. But Raza's superb knock ended when he was taken by surprise from a cutter by Maphaka and the leading edge was caught by cover.
From there, a score of 150-plus for Zimbabwe looked in danger. But Madande driving Nortje for four and Brad Evans nailing a lofted six off a slower ball from Ngidi ensured they got above 150 despite a yorker from Bosch castling the latter.
Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 153/7 in 20 overs (Sikandar Raza 73, Clive Madande 26 not out; Kwena Maphaka 2-21, Corbin Bosch 2-40) against South Africa
