Zimbabwe national cricket team led by Sikandar Raza went head to head with Indian national cricket team led by Shubman Gill in the third T20I of India tour of Zimbabwe 2024 at Harare Sports Club.

The third match was crucial for the Chevrons as after facing maximum achievements in the first T20I, they suffered a crushing defeat in the second T20I. Under the leadership of Sikandar Raza, the hosts pulled off a huge upset by defeating the star-studded Indian team by 13 runs.

Despite a complete batting failure, it was the bowlers who did the job for the team. A score of 115 posted by Zimbabwe looked like a walk in the park for the Indian team until the bowlers brought out their A-game and restricted them to 102/10 in 19.5 overs.

However, the next match went completely against Zimbabwe as the Indian batsmen showed great class and decimated the hosts with their aggressive batting. Zimbabwe conceded a massive 234 runs and their batsmen managed only 134, resulting in a humiliating 100-run defeat. Zimbabwe’s batsmen could not get going and were unable to trouble the Indian bowlers as only two batsmen touched the 30-run mark.

In the third T20I, India again batted first and Zimbabwe’s bowlers did a good job but lack of support from the fielders meant that they were unable to get wickets quickly. The visitors were able to score 182/4 on the board and Sikandar Raza along with Blessing Muzarabani got two wickets each for the hosts.

During the chase, Zimbabwe’s top order again collapsed, putting them under tremendous pressure. Dion Myers showed some great batting with a 65-run knock, but it was not enough for victory and they lost by 23 runs.

I think the problem is the field game again, we are proud of our field game but today everything fell apart – Sikandar Raza

At the post-match presentation ceremony, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza criticised the players’ poor performance on the field during the match as they dropped several catches which ultimately cost them the match. Sikandar Raza stated:

“I think the problem is the field game, we take pride in our field game, but today everything fell apart, we allowed 20 extra runs and lost by 23 runs. We still have problems at the top, but I have full faith that they will improve at some point.”

Speaking about the situation of Zimbabwe team’s opening pair, Sikandar Raza stated that they have tried 15 different openers but things have not gone well for them. He also criticised the senior players of the team for not stepping up in the match. Sikandar Raza said:

“We have tried 15 different partners (openers) in the last one and a half years or so. There is a lot of cricket in the country and club cricket has revived. It is time for our players, including myself, to take responsibility. It is acceptable for youngsters to make mistakes but senior players need to step up. You cannot solve a problem by creating another problem, we have picked 3 openers for a reason. The openers we have picked should be given a chance.”

Sikandar Raza concluded by praising bowler Blessing Muzarabani for continuing to impress with his bowling. He said:

“(On Muzarabani) He has been outstanding, sometimes the rewards don’t come, but in the long run the rewards do come.”