Zimbabwe’s captain, Sikandar Raza, praised his team’s impressive 23-run victory over Australia in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. In pursuit of 170 runs, Australia struggled to maintain their wickets, with Blessing Muzarabani taking four wickets, leading to their dismissal for 146 runs in just 19.3 overs. Raza faced fitness issues and was unable to participate in the second innings.
After the match, Raza addressed his injury, stating, “It’s just cramps, and I should recover in a day or two.”
Raza expressed pride in his players, whom he referred to as his younger brothers.
“I am proud and happy. It feels like a brother watching his younger brothers achieve so much together. Our culture and unity are fantastic, and achieving a win against Australia is surreal. At one point, we were at 70 runs in the first ten overs and were not aiming for 190. We could have aimed for 140, but losing wickets can happen quickly in Sri Lanka if you try to hit too hard,” he explained.
“We advised Benny to stay in the middle until the end, as he was performing well. Our fielding was excellent, and we made some great catches,” he added.
Raza also commented on the team’s injury concerns, saying, “We currently have only 13 fit players. I went down, and Cremer has a slight injury as well. I trust Zimbabwe Cricket is considering replacements, as we need 15 fit players in these conditions. The boys deserve to celebrate today. We are in a strong position, but the next match is our priority now,” he concluded.
