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NEW DELHI: All-rounder Sikandar Raza took sensational 3-25 against Pakistan in Perth on Thursday as Zimbabwe prevailed by one run in a final-ball thriller to register their first Super 12 win at the 20-20 World Cup.
Coming off an extraordinary last-ball defeat against arch-rivals India in their opening game on Sunday, Pakistan find their tournament in tatters after restricting Zimbabwe to a modest 130-8 at the Perth Stadium and managing just 129-8 in reply .
Here’s what players had to say after the game:
Craig Ervine (Zimbabwe captain): So special. Especially for the work we did to get into the Super 12s. We didn’t want our tournament to end there. We wanted to come in and play very good cricket against top teams and we did that exceptionally well today. I thought after our batting performance we thought we might be 20-25 short but I thought our seamers hit their straps early. Raza again came to the party as he always does and picked up some crucial wickets in the middle overs there. I think he (Raza) has three Man of the Matches so I’ll be broke by the time we get home. I also want to thank the Zimbabwean fans who came out today to support us. You guys really lift our spirits wherever we go, so special thanks.
Babar Azam (Pakistani captain): We would have taken 130 in the halfway point. Very disappointing performance, we are not up to par in batting. We have good batsmen but both openers came out in the power play. When Shadab and Shan were building a partnership, Shadab unfortunately got out and then consecutive wickets which put us in a pressure situation. First 6 overs, we didn’t use the new ball well but we finished well with the ball. We will sit out, discuss our mistakes and we will train hard and come back strong in our next game.
Sikandar Raza (Player of the Match): I’m at a loss for words, my mouth must be dry because of the emotions I’m going through right now. I can’t tell you how proud I am of this bunch of boys. The way our seamers started at the top was just unbelievable and the way we backed it up in the field and the way we kept believing was really beyond words. When we came to Australia, I said to my captain (Ervine): If you become Man of the Match, pick any watch from the catalog and I’ll buy it for you. But if I win the Man of the Match (award), you’re going to buy me one. I reminded him that he now owed me three watches. I was excited today, and I watched this clip by Ricky Ponting earlier in the morning, and it motivated me to come up with this performance. I would like to thank Ricky Ponting for that.
Coming off an extraordinary last-ball defeat against arch-rivals India in their opening game on Sunday, Pakistan find their tournament in tatters after restricting Zimbabwe to a modest 130-8 at the Perth Stadium and managing just 129-8 in reply .
Here’s what players had to say after the game:
Craig Ervine (Zimbabwe captain): So special. Especially for the work we did to get into the Super 12s. We didn’t want our tournament to end there. We wanted to come in and play very good cricket against top teams and we did that exceptionally well today. I thought after our batting performance we thought we might be 20-25 short but I thought our seamers hit their straps early. Raza again came to the party as he always does and picked up some crucial wickets in the middle overs there. I think he (Raza) has three Man of the Matches so I’ll be broke by the time we get home. I also want to thank the Zimbabwean fans who came out today to support us. You guys really lift our spirits wherever we go, so special thanks.
Babar Azam (Pakistani captain): We would have taken 130 in the halfway point. Very disappointing performance, we are not up to par in batting. We have good batsmen but both openers came out in the power play. When Shadab and Shan were building a partnership, Shadab unfortunately got out and then consecutive wickets which put us in a pressure situation. First 6 overs, we didn’t use the new ball well but we finished well with the ball. We will sit out, discuss our mistakes and we will train hard and come back strong in our next game.
Sikandar Raza (Player of the Match): I’m at a loss for words, my mouth must be dry because of the emotions I’m going through right now. I can’t tell you how proud I am of this bunch of boys. The way our seamers started at the top was just unbelievable and the way we backed it up in the field and the way we kept believing was really beyond words. When we came to Australia, I said to my captain (Ervine): If you become Man of the Match, pick any watch from the catalog and I’ll buy it for you. But if I win the Man of the Match (award), you’re going to buy me one. I reminded him that he now owed me three watches. I was excited today, and I watched this clip by Ricky Ponting earlier in the morning, and it motivated me to come up with this performance. I would like to thank Ricky Ponting for that.
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