Zimbabwe all-rounder, Sikandar Raza, who has his origin in Pakistan, came out as a hero in the October 23 clash between Zimbabwe and Pakistan in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Perth. Though Sikandar scored a paltry 9 runs with the bat, he more than made up for it with the ball in hand by taking 3 wickets that helped the minnows beat Pakistan by the barest of margins.
In the post-match presentation, Sikandar Raza was at the forefront after winning the Man of The Match award for his brilliant performance. One of the journalists at the conference asked the Zimbabwean all-rounder to tell him when exactly did Raza start to believe that ZIM could beat PAK in the game.
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The journalist asked: “Sikandar, great performance… at what point did you actually start believing that this match could come in your side?”. Issuing a one-liner as an answer, Sikandar Raza said that he believed in Zimbabwe’s chances even before the first ball was bowled.
Here is the video of the incident:
Journalist – "At what time did you think you can win this match?"
Sikandar Raza – "Before the first ball was bowled" 🥶🔥pic.twitter.com/zS053gg5LE
— 12th Khiladi (@12th_khiladi) October 27, 2022
Notably, Sikandar Raza’s spell of spin-bowling was the turning point of the match as the dismissals of Haider, Shan Masood, and Shadab Khan in quick succession off his bowling made life tough for Pakistan.
Sikandar Raza has been going through a purple patch of his career in 2022 and in T20Is alone the all-rounder has made 661 runs at an average of 36.71 and also taken 23 wickets at a bowling average and economy of 16.65 and 5.98.
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For Zimbabwe to cause an upset against India and Bangladesh and have a shot at a dream semi-final in the 2022 T20 WC, Sikandar has to continue in the same manner. The spirited show from Raza was the sole reason ZIM qualified for the Super 12 stage ahead of two-time World Cup champs West Indies.
