Eight teams are already waiting in the main draw of the 2023 ICC World Cup which takes place later this year in India. And from a pool of ten more countries, just a couple will go through from the World Cup Qualifiers 2023, which is currently underway in Zimbabwe. We at Read Scoops always knew it was going to be an electric few matches and we’re not wrong so far.
Zimbabwe has a good chance of being one of the two teams to go through and qualify for this vital global event in India, and they further strengthened these chances today by beating West Indies by 35 runs in a group stage game. And while cricket is a team sport, there’s been one man in 37-year old Sikandar Raza who is proving to be a superstar for this African nation…
Can Sikandar Raza take Zimbabwe to CWC 2023?
There’s a massive significance to their victory today and Raza played a huge role in the win, scoring 68(58) with the bat as Zimbabwe made 268. He followed it up with 2/36 in 8 overs with the ball, getting a second consecutive Man of the Match award in this tournament, the fans being absolutely electric at the Harare Sports Club today, singing and dancing right through the game.
Most Player of the Match awards by Zimbabwe players in ODI history:
Grant Flower – 12 (221 matches)
Sikandar Raza – 11* (132 matches)
Andy Flower – 11 (213 matches)Sikandar Raza – An all-time Great. pic.twitter.com/E7zc9tLVaD
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 24, 2023
There were some brilliant scenes in the stands and the Zimbabweans showed how there’s so much love and respect within their team. They played together as a unit and supported each other, unlike the West Indies side, who dropped a number of important catches earlier in the day. Today’s win took Zimbabwe to the top of their group with 3 wins in 3 games so far.
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And while so many others have contributed to the team’s 5 consecutive ODI victories right now, Raza in particular has been bringing out his A-game. He backed up his century and 4-fer from the last game against Netherlands with another fifty and 2-fer. Don’t forget he scored another century less than 2 weeks ago in a warmup game against Oman too. His contributions right now are just priceless for Zimbabwe.
One of the richest moments in the history of Zimbabwe cricket!
They've defeated the 2 time champions West Indies in the World Cup Qualifiers. pic.twitter.com/a9xRh8bX4O
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) June 24, 2023
Man, feels good when Zimbabwe is winning #CWCQualifier pic.twitter.com/ETmRf2F76o
— Estelle Vasudevan (@Estelle_Vasude1) June 24, 2023
It wasn’t very surprising to see Raza take the catch of the final West Indies wicket to fall today either, because he’s helping the team in all departments. With injuries and health issues, not many thought he’d played cricket again, around 20 months ago, and now he’s playing at the biggest stage, even making his debut in the Indian T20 league a couple of months ago for Punjab Kings in IPL 2023.
With 11 Man of the Match awards in ODIs for Zimbabwe, only Grant Flower has more and Raza is writing his name in the history books of Zimbabwe cricket. He also currently owns one of the highest batting averages for Zimbabwe in ODIs. So the question remains, can he keep up the good work and lead them to success and a spot in the 2023 World Cup?
For similar updates on Zimbabwe cricket as well as other cricketing news from across the world, stay tuned to ReadScoops.com.
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