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Following his side's series loss to India after defeat in the fifth and final T20I, Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza opened up on his availability for the longer format of the game, fitness issues and flaws in his team's performances throughout the series.
A fine four-wicket spell by Mukesh Kumar and half-century by Sanju Samson were the highlights as India defeated Zimbabwe by 42 runs in the fifth and final T20I at Harare to secure the series on Sunday. Speaking in the post-match presentation, Raza said, "Batting-wise, we are still below-par, but we are starting to rectify the problems at the top. You are going to have bad games here and there. The grey area for me will remain our attitude in the field, We are still making a lot of mistakes, that is controllable, we are going to keep working hard and hopefully keep getting better." He also lauded pacer Blessing Muzarbani (six wickets in this series) for his bowling and said that having pacer Richard Ngarva fit was a blessing for the team, though he could play just three games due to injury. On his own workload and performances, desire to play Tests, Raza said, "My workload needs to be managed. I have not played any four-day cricket in the last two years since my surgeries. My shoulder is not 100 percent; I do not want to be a guy who just gets a jersey. I need to go back, respect my domestic cricket, and also respect my domestic cricketers who have put in a lot of runs. I will go back to play domestic cricket and test my own fitness. I am still available for Test match cricket but at this point of time, I am not because I haven't played a lot of four-day cricket. I will leave for Manchester for The Hundred in a few days time, I am looking forward to that." Raza had an underwhelming run in the series, scoring just 90 runs in five innings, with the best score of 46 and took six wickets, with the best figures of 3/25. In 17 Tests for Zimbabwe, he has scored 1,187 runs at an average of 35.96, with a century and eight fifties in 33 innings. India has won the series 4-1. Coming to the match, Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field first. They had India at 40/3 at one point until a 65-run partnership between Sanju Samson (58 in 45 balls, with a four and four sixes) and Riyan Parag (22 in 24 balls, with a six) and a fine cameo from Shivam Dube (26 in 12 balls, with two fours and two sixes) took India to 167/6 in their 20 overs. Blessing Muzarbani (2/19) was the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe. Richard Ngarva, Sikandar Raza, and Brandon Mavuta also got a wicket each. In the run-chase, Zimbabwe had a fine start and was in the game for a good amount of time, until Shivam Dube (2/25) delivered a game-changing spell and a quick run-out of Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza. Dion Myers (34 in 32 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Tadiwanashe Marumani (27 in 24 balls, with five fours) and Faraz Akram (27 in 13 balls, with two fours and two sixes) put up a fight for Zimbabwe, but Mukesh Kumar (4/22) cleaned up the tail. Zimbabwe was bundled out for 125 runs, losing by 42 runs with nine balls left. Shivam secured the 'Player of the Match' award for his all-round performance. Washington Sundar, who scored 28 runs in two innings with the best score of 27 and took eight wickets in the series, was given the 'Player of the Series' award. (ANI)
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