Cricket enthusiasts across the globe witnessed another thrilling T20 encounter between India and Zimbabwe. After starting the series with an impressive win, Zimbabwe faced two consecutive setbacks. In the third T20 match, Zimbabwe faced a 23-run defeat. With that, they laced behind in the series. After that, Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza opened up about the match, their performances, and concerns.
Raza on the Defeat:
After facing a defeat in the second T20I match against India, Zimbabwe was in a positive mindset but they struck again. While bowling first, they failed to stop the Indian batters in a small total. Their fielding was a major concern in this match. They dropped multiple catches and gave away runs in crucial moments. That cost the match for them.
After the disappointing defeat, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza opened up and accepted their fielding failures. He said, “I think it’s the fielding again, we are proud of our fielding but the wheels came off today, we gave away 20 extra runs and we lost by 23 runs.”
Opening Position is a Major Concern:
In the ongoing series, Zimbabwe’s top order has been a major concern. In these matches, they failed multiple times. The concern continued in this match too. In the second innings, Wessly Madhevere and Tadiwanashe Marumani came to open the innings. But Madhevere was dismissed by scoring only 1 run. Marumani scored only 13 runs. Brian Bennett added only 4 runs.
While talking about this concern, he said, “We still have problems at the top but I have utmost faith in them that they will come good some time. We have tried 15 different partners (openers) in the last year and a half or so. There is a lot of cricket going on in the country and club cricket has revived. It’s time that our players including myself take up the responsibility.”
Later he added, “The youngsters making mistakes is acceptable but the senior players need to step up. You cannot fix a problem by creating another problem, we have picked 3 openers for a reason. The openers that have been picked up should be given a run.”
Praising Muzarabani:
Among all the challenges in this game, Zimbabwe bowler Blessing Muzarabani shined bright. While bowling in the first innings, he played a crucial role. After Jaiswal and Abhishek’s dismissal, Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad were making a valuable partnership. But Muzarabani broke that partnership and sent Gill back to the pavilion scoring 66 runs. After that, he also dismissed Ruturaj Gaikwad.
While praising the bowler, Raza said, “He has been outstanding, sometimes the rewards don’t come but in the long run the rewards do come.”
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