Avid cricket fans from across the globe would’ve been extremely excited over the last couple of days as there has been so much of international cricketing action taking place. However, none of them would’ve been as exciting as Zimbabwe’s Test match win in Bangladesh, which turned out to be a very historic one for the country – their first Test win in 5 years and first outside home since 2001.
After a strong total of 282 in their 1st innings and capturing a lead of 139 runs after Bangladesh’s reply, Zimbabwe were well in control of the 1st Test in Sylhet. Bangladesh have been mighty at home over the years, but Zimbabwe proved that they are below no one else, coming out and wrapping up the game on Day 4 itself, winning by a massive margin of 151 runs.
Now cricket is a team game and there were plenty of contributors with both bat and ball for Zimbabwe, including Sean Williams, whose 88(173) won himself the Man of the Match award, while Brandon Mavuta’s 4/21 in the final innings was also vital. However, there was another major contributor, who has in fact become a vital cog in the Zimbabwe cricket wheel over the past year and so – Sikandar Raza.
When Zimbabwe completed a historic ODI series win against Sri Lanka last year, Read Scoops spoke to Raza to get insights on that fantastic series. See here:
EXCLUSIVE: Sikandar Raza Speaks Out After Zimbabwe’s Historic Win in Sri Lanka
He however, has only played 11 Tests for his country since his debut in 2013 and that shows that Zimbabwe haven’t been getting too many chances in the longest format. However, this latest victory against Bangladesh shows that they are capable and will probably open the door to more opportunities for the country.
Raza picked up 3/41 in the important final innings and ended with figures of 6/76 and once again turned out to be an important part of a Zimbabwe victory. Read Scoops caught up with Raza once again to ask him about the mood in the camp. He said, “The entire team is very happy and also excited. It’s bubbly in the changing room. Personally for me, it’s very humbling and great to be part of this historic win.”
For Raza, as for many others in the team, this was his maiden victory in Zimbabwe whites, but we hope to see many more in the months and years to come. Until then, keep reading ReadScoops.com for more cricketing updates from around the world.
