Sikandar Raza’s 54-ball 102 with the bat and four wickets with the ball, helped Zimbabwe register an impressive six-wicket win over Netherlands.
Sikandar Raza’s exceptional all-round performance led Zimbabwe to a memorable six-wicket victory over the Netherlands in the ICC ODI World Cup qualifiers at Harare Sports Club stadium in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe won the toss and elected to field, restricting the Netherlands to 315/6 in their 50 overs. Vikramjit Singh, Edwards, and Max O’Dowd all scored half-centuries.
In response, Zimbabwe successfully chased down the target with nine overs to spare, thanks to Raza’s explosive 102 runs off 54 balls, marking the fastest century for Zimbabwe in international cricket. Raza’s innings included six fours and eight sixes. The 37-year-old also shone with the ball, taking four wickets for 55 runs in the first innings.
Zimbabwe maintained control throughout the chase, with openers Craig Ervine and Joylord Gumble providing an 80-run partnership. Three additional 50-plus partnerships followed, with Sean Williams impressively contributing 91 runs off just 58 balls.
To seal the victory, Raza smashed two sixes in the final over, propelling Zimbabwe to a total of 319/4 in 40.5 overs.
Brief Score: Zimbabwe 319 for 4 (Raza 102*, Williams 91, Shariz 2-62) beat Netherlands 315 for 6 (Vikramjit 88, Edwards 83, Raza 4-55) by six wickets.
Man of the Match: Sikandar Raza
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