Team India did not have much trouble in dealing with Zimbabwe as they clinched a five-wicket on Sunday. Zimbabwe did face a defeat in their final Super 12 fixture but their star all-rounder Sikandar Raza was in sublime form during the clash against India. Raza’s outstanding show earned him plaudits from all quarters. Moreover, he became the first-ever cricketer in the history of T20I cricket to score 500-plus runs and claim 25 wickets. Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan praised Raza for showcasing his supreme all-around abilities against the Men in Blue.
“Well done mate. You were outstanding with ball and bat in your hand,” Irfan wrote while responding to a tweet posted by Raza.
Well done mate. You were outstanding with ball n bat in your hand 👏
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 7, 2022
Earlier, on Twitter, Raza had talked about the thrilling World Cup match between the Netherlands and South Africa. “This World Cup. I hope you all watching Netherlands vs South Africa. Cricket you are Beautiful,” Raza wrote on Sunday.
This World Cup 😓
I hope you all watching.@T20WorldCup #NedvSACricket , you are Beautiful 😍
— Sikandar Raza (@SRazaB24) November 6, 2022
Coming back to the match between India and Zimbabwe, batting first, the Rohit Sharma-led side posted a formidable total of 186. Suryakumar Yadav carried forward his sensational batting and played a blistering knock of unbeaten 61 off just 25 deliveries. KL Rahul also played a crucial innings of 51. Rahul’s superb batting came to a premature end after Raza managed to dismiss him in the 13th over of the innings. Raza conceded 18 runs against India and picked up the important wicket of Rahul after bowling three overs.
Raza, during the run chase, produced another stellar display and pulled off a brilliant knock of 34 in 24 balls. The 36-year-old all-rounder stitched a solid partnership of 60 along with Ryan Burl. However, their stupendous batting eventually proved to be useless as Zimbabwe were bundled out for 115.
And with this win, India qualified for the semi-finals as the leaders of Group 2. Earlier on Sunday, Netherlands caused a major upset as they defeated South Africa by 13 runs. The Dutch team’s spectacular victory gifted Pakistan a lifeline and the Babar Azam-led side made no mistake in accepting it gratefully.
Pakistan, in their final Super 12 fixture, got the better of Bangladesh to confirm their berth in semis. Pakistan claimed a five-wicket win to advance to the last-four stage. They will now face New Zealand in semi-finals on Wednesday. India, on the other hand, will take on England in the second semi-final on Thursday. The summit clash is scheduled to be played on November 13 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Get the latest Cricket News, Schedule and Cricket Live Scores here