|
Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza called the win over Australia in the ongoing T20 World Cup "unbelievable," saying they stayed calm and targeted around 175, knowing the pitch would slow down.
He praised Brian Bennett for holding his nerve and highlighted the team's all-round effort, bowling, fielding, catches, and boundary saves. Raza said the boys wanted it, deserved it, and delivered a flawless performance. Zimbabwe pulled off the biggest upset of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, defeating mighty Australia by 23 runs in match 19 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. "It's just unbelievable. 70 on at 10, and we said we're happy. And I know somebody said in the changing room that, yeah, 190 is on, and I said, no. If you look for 190 now, it is 140 all-out. And then just keep going at 8s and 9s and see what happens because over the time and even from the previous tours we've been to Sri Lanka, we understand the wicket starts to get slower and lower, and the moment you try and go too hard too early, I mean, the cluster of wickets fell," Raza said after the match. "So we sent a message to Benny that he's doing a great job. It doesn't matter if he's trying and he's not hitting, he doesn't have to basically panic. As long as he's there, we'll get to a good total. I thought 175 is what we were looking for, but ended up maybe a few dots. But the way we came and the way we bowled, the way we started, the way we fielded every catch, some of the boundary stops, it's just unbelievable. I mean, there's nothing to fault the boys for. It looked like the boys wanted it, and I think they really did, and they deserved to win today," he added. This is the second time that the African nation has beaten Australia in a T20 World Cup match. The first was when Australia lost their group stage match against Zimbabwe in the 2007 edition. After this win, Zimbabwe moved into second place in Group B, while Australia slipped down to third place with only one win. Sri Lanka is at the top with a couple of wins. Now, Zimbabwe will take on Ireland in their next group-stage match on Tuesday, while Australia will face Sri Lanka on Monday. (ANI)
|
