Sikandar Raza owns joint-second-most POTM awards in T20Is: Details
Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza slammed a fine 65 against Ireland in the T20I series opener in Harare. It was indeed a captain's knock from Raza as he bailed his team out of trouble and powered them to a thrilling one-wicket triumph. His all-round heroics earned him the Player-of-the-Match award. The Zimbabwe star now owns the joint-second-most POTM honors in T20I cricket.
An innings of character from Raza
Chasing 148, Zimbabwe lost wickets at regular intervals. Raza, who batted at number four, however, did not put his guard down as he kept his side in the hunt. He kept finding the odd boundaries, making sure the required rate stayed within reach. He scored a 42-ball 65 as Zimbabwe crossed the line on the final ball. Raza also claimed 3/28 with his off-spin.
Raza receives his 14th POTM award in T20Is
Raza was named the Player of the Match for the 14th time in T20Is. The veteran now has the joint-second-most POTM awards in the shortest format. While Afghanistan's Mohammad Nabi also owns as many POTM awards, India's Virat Kohli tops this list with 15 honors. After the Harare T20I, Raza went past India's Suryakumar Yadav (13) on this list.
Fourth successive fifty for Raza
This was Raza's fourth successive fifty in the format as his preceding scores read 82, 65, and 58, against Kenya, Nigeria, and Rwanda, respectively. He became just the fourth batter after South Africa's Reeza Hendricks, New Zealand's Brendon McCullum, and West Indies's Chris Gayle to slam 50-plus scores in four successive T20Is.
Here are his overall T20I numbers
With 1,774 runs in 78 games at 25.34, Raza is Zimbabwe's highest run-getter in the format (SR: 134.39). His overall tally includes 12 half-centuries with 87 being his best score. With the ball, he has scalped 55 wickets at 23.01. He owns two four-wicket hauls in the format. He became Zimbabwe's T20I skipper earlier this year.
