Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza scripts history with five successive T20I fifties
Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza scripted history on Sunday (January 14) as he became the first batter to slam five consecutive 50-plus scores in T20Is. He accomplished the milestone with a fiery 42-ball 62 against Sri Lanka in the T20I series opener in Colombo. His efforts, however, went in vain as SL won by three wickets, having chased down 144. Here are further details.
Five successive fifties for Raza
Three of Raza's five successive fifties came in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup Africa Region Qualifier, in November 2023. He scored 65 against Nigeria and followed it up with 58 and 82 against Rwanda and Kenya, respectively. Raza then scored 65 in Harare T20I against Ireland in December. He continued his stellar run and scored 62 against SL.
Raza surpasses these names
As mentioned, Raza became the first batter to hammer five successive 50-plus scores in the format. Among full-member team batters, New Zealand's Brendon McCullum, West Indie's Chris Gayle, and South Africa's Reeza Hendricks now jointly hold the second place with four such scores apiece. Interestingly, Raza's bowling figures in his last five T20Is read 3/3, 2/13, 2/21, 3/28, and 3/13.
Here are his overall T20I numbers
With 1,836 runs at 25.85, Raza is Zimbabwe's highest run-getter in the format (SR: 134.80). He has scored 332 runs besides scalping 13 wickets in his last five outings. His overall tally includes 13 half-centuries with 87 being his best score. With his off-spin, he has scalped 58 wickets at 22.05. He owns two four-wicket hauls in the format.
How did the game pan out?
While Raza scored 62, none of his teammates could touch the 30-run mark as Zimbabwe could only manage 143/5 while batting first in Colombo. Spinners Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana claimed two wickets apiece. In reply, SL were reduced to 83/6 as Raza also claimed 3/13. However, Angelo Mathews's timely 46 and Dasun Shanaka's 26* meant SL crossed the line on the final delivery.
