daniel chigunwe
ZIMBABWE captain Sikandar Raza says the win in their final T20I match against Pakistan at Queens yesterday will cheer the Chevrons dressing room.
The Chevrons won by two wickets after chasing the 132/7 target with a ball to spare as they scored 133/8.to lose the series 1-2.
It was Zimbabwe’s third win against Pakistan in T20Is.
The chase was set up by Brian Bennett who hammered boundaries at will in the power play to score 43 off 35 balls but when he fell in the 10th over, with the score at 73, there was a wobble from the Zimbabweans.
Wickets fell at regular intervals and that allowed Pakistan to get back in the game,
Tashinga Musekiwa struggled and even played out a maiden over in the 16th against Sufiyan Muqeem that ramped up the asking rate.
When Raza fell, it looked like Zimbabwe would fall short but it was the day of the debutant – Tinotenda Maposa – the hometown hero who nervelessly smashed a four and a six in the last over to all but seal the deal.
Still there was a twist as Musekiwa fell with the scores level but Ngarava hit the winning run to give something for the home crowd to cheer.
“We wanted to win the series but unfortunately we couldn’t. The desire to beat Pakistan was there and finishing with a win is incredibly satisfying.
“We had a tough tour but we backed the youngsters and for them to win it today was heartwarming to see.
“We did not want to dwell on the past, had we done so, we couldn’t have won today. We wanted to get that first loss out of the system, we had another bad game and we wanted to get that out of the system too.
“Today I thought the bowling attack did really well to restrict them to 133. Unfortunately, it can happen, first time Tashinga has faced a Chinaman, but he will learn a lot from today, and we have Afghanistan anyway next.
“A few bad games won’t define him and his career and me and everyone will continue to back him. We felt that with the way Tinotenda swings, it was going to fly, one edge and one middle of the bat and we won.
“I was reading a stat that Pakistan are one of the top sides in T20 cricket, to win against them will keep us in good stead and help us a lot going forward.”
Bennett, who was the man-of-the-match, said:
“It’s nice to contribute to the team winning, we have got Afghanistan next week, so it’s nice to take some momentum into next week.
“We have a saying in the group – it’s always team first and wherever the coaches want me to bat, I am happy.
“We are a young team and we are always learning, good to finish with a win today. Very confident, not to get too far ahead of myself though, got a few days off and on to the next one.” – Sports Reporter/Cricbuzz
Online Reporter