Picture Credit: ICC
Zimbabwe registered a historic upset as they took down Pakistan in their Super 12s matchup at the Optus Stadium in Perth. All-rounder Sikander Raza once again emerged as the Player of the Match for the Zimbabweans as he picked three wickets in four overs while giving away just 25 runs.
Raza has been in the form of his life and has so far won three of these awards in the World Cup so far. He has been one of the most confident players in the tournament and has shown this belief in his team as they marched into the Super 12 stage after some poor results.
The 36-year-old talked about his belief in the team when a reporter asked when he and the team knew they would win the game. Raza replied, "Before the first ball was bowled..." He then continued talking about how he believed in his team despite falling a few runs short in the first innings.
He spoke about how the early pressure was put on the Pakistan team thanks to players like Richard Ngarava and Blessing Muzarabani, who rattled the batters and helped Zimbabwe get an early advantage in the game. This allowed them to pick early wickets and steadily increase the pressure of the chase on the Pakistan team.
He said, “I personally feel we were 15-20 runs short, but I truly believe in this group of boys. We knew that if we can field well and take all our chances and cut those important twos, We could really win this game. And the way Garaba and Mabuna, their first two overs and then of course we had early wickets. Brad took a wicket in the fourth over and then Mabuna took one in the fifth over and this was the start we need.”
