Captain Sikandar Raza’s all-round show went in vain as Zimbabwe lost to South Africa by five-wickets in their final T20 World Cup Super 8 clash in New Delhi on Sunday. With the win, the Proteas topped Group 1 of the Super 8 points table to set up a semi-final clash with New Zealand. Skipper Sikandar Raza’s brisk 43-ball 73 was instrumental in lifting Zimbabwe to 153/7 against South Africa. Sikandar’s All Round Performance Couldn’t Stop South Africa For Stay Unbeaten .
TOSS-
Zimbabwe have won the toss and have opted to bat .
PLAYING XI-
Zimbabwe (Playing XI):
Tadiwanashe Marumani(w), Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza(c), Ryan Burl, Tony Munyonga, Clive Madande, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani
South Africa (Playing XI):
Aiden Markram(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, George Linde, Corbin Bosch, Anrich Nortje, Kwena Maphaka, Lungi Ngidi
ZIMBABWE-
Zimbabwe started off well as Tadiwanashe Marumani hit the first ball of the match for a boundary, which was then followed by Brian Bennett smashing his first ball for a six as 13 runs came in the opening over. But a wild swing from Marumani in the second over saw him lost his leg stump to Kwena Maphaka, who was a part of three changes South Africa made to their XI having already made it to the semifinal. Bennett, who has had a memorable maiden ICC tournament, couldn’t make a mark this time on a sunny Delhi afternoon as he was sent packing by Anrich Nortje. Out walked Raza with a purpose as he took Corbin Bosch to the clenears with two fours and a six to round off the Powerplay in positive fashion for the Zimbabweans.
The 39-year-old then hit Nortje for a four and a six as well to race to 31 off just 14 balls. But South Africa continued to make inroads as it was now George Linde’s turn to strike with Dion Myers getting a top edge. Aiden Markram was welcomed into the attack with a six and a four in his first over from the Zimbabwe veteran before Lungi Ngidi and Bosch struck in successive overs to keep pegging Zimbabwe back. Raza eventually brought up a 29-ball fifty and then at one point looked in sizzling touch to make it count and double it.
Boundaries kept flowing as Zimbabwe found themselves at 110/5 with five overs still remaining and a marauding Raza still at the crease. But immediately after nailing another six off Maphaka this time, Raza miscued one off the very next ball to depart for 73. With that, Zimbabwe’s hopes of getting closer to 170 went up in smoke but Clive Madanda did manage to drag them to 153.
SOUTH AFRICA-
Basically with a decent total to defend, Raza took the same responsibility to create some trouble for the South African team. We are seeing the bowler starting first and getting out Quinton de Kock only when the left-hand batsman hit the ball to the wicket-keeper while trying to cut. Raza actually bowled a ball that stayed low and definitely went through Markram’s bat to hit the stumps.
Ryan Rickelton actually fought back with some big sixes, but Brad Evans definitely stopped him with a short ball that made the left-hander hit it wrong and get out. After the Powerplay, South Africa were struggling at 43/3 and needed a good partnership to get their chase back on track. The team itself required further stability to recover from the early wickets. Dewald Brevis surely followed his usual approach and counterattacked by hitting two sixes against Graeme Cremer in one over. Moreover, this aggressive response was typical of his batting style. As per the match progress, David Miller started hitting big shots regarding Wellington Mazakadza’s first over with two sixes and one four. That brief sequence of boundaries surely dampened the Zimbabwean team’s morale, moreover it significantly shifted the momentum of the match.
Moreover, basically, even though Muzarabani broke the partnership and Raza got Brevis out in his last over, it was the same result – South Africa won easily. We are seeing that Zimbabwe’s hopes of making a comeback after Brevis left did not happen, as Linde and Tristan Stubbs only stayed calm and showed no worry. The two batsmen actually kept reducing the target with a steady partnership. They definitely played carefully together to chase down the runs. We are seeing Linde giving the knockout blow with his bat as he hit boundaries off Bennett and Burl, and then the two players finished the job with only 13 balls left.
Brief scores:
South Africa actually beat Zimbabwe by 5 wickets when they chased down 154 runs in just 17.5 overs. Zimbabwe definitely fought well with Sikandar Raza scoring 73 runs, but South Africa’s Dewald Brevis and Ryan Rickelton made sure their team won easily.
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