T20 World Cup: Sikandar Raza restores Zimbabwe pride despite defeat

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza wears a cap as South Africa’s Tristan Stubbs and George Linde walk off the field after winning the T20 World Cup cricket match between South Africa and Zimbabwe in New Delhi, India, Sunday, March 1, 2026. (AP Photo)

TimesofIndia.com in New Delhi: “Despite the bruises, we will seek to win and earn respect,” the Zimbabwe captain said. Sikandar Raza before taking on India in the T20 World Cup Super Eights. But then they were beaten by West Indies for 254 and a few days later they were beaten by 256. Despite scoring 510 runs in two games, on the eve of the match against South Africa, Zimbabwe bowling consultant Courtney Walsh reiterated that their results against Sri Lanka and Australia in the group stages cannot be ignored. “We wanted to make a statement here and I think the performance showed that,” he said.A day later, Zimbabwe restored their pride and respect by pushing the Proteas over the top. Arun Jaitley On a hot Sunday afternoon, the stadium in New Delhi attracted nearly 20,000 spectators. South Africa maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament after winning five matches. They are now heading into the semi-finals against New Zealand on March 4 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, having won seven games in a row.

Raza fittingly led Zimbabwe to another upset in the tournament. He scored 73 runs off 43 balls, laden with 8 fours and 4 sixes to take the team to 153/7, before taking 3/29 from his four overs, which included a dismissal of Quinton de Kock’s first delivery, and added to South Africa’s wicket troubles. Aiden Markram and Dewald Breves.Although South Africa lost 4 wickets in the first 10 overs, they remained on top of the scoring curve, reaching 93 runs at half-time. With Breivis going down shortly afterwards, Zimbabwe may have reason to believe. Is another upset coming? Are Zimbabwe about to beat their “big brother”?These faint hopes were dashed by Tristan Stubbs (21 unbeaten in 24 games), George Lind (Unbeaten 30 off 21 balls), 53 runs off 43 balls, maintaining uninterrupted form.Earlier, Raza’s brilliant batting stood out in an otherwise average batting display from Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe skipper Raza smashed 73 off 43 balls while the other batsmen struggled to find the same rhythm at a quality pace.Apart from Raza, the batsmen tried to attack the likes of Quina Mafaka, Anrich Nortje and the in-form Lungi Ngidi, but without success.Brief score:Zimbabwe: 153/7 in 20 overs (Sikandar Raza 73; Kwena Maphaka 2/21).South Africa: 154/5 in 17.5 overs (Ryan Rickton 31. Dewald Breves 42. George Linde; Sikandar Raza 3/29)