Sikandar Raza was adjudged the Player of the Match as Zimbabwe defeated Sri Lanka by five wickets in the second T20I. With that, the veteran Zimbabwe all-rounder extended his lead for most POTM awards among Test-playing nations in T20Is.
Zimbabwe stunned Sri Lanka with a five-wicket win in the second T20I of the series. The hosts had a strong start with the ball and gave no room to the Lankan batters to assert any sort of dominance. The openers, Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis, made 8 and 1 runs respectively, while batting at number three, Kamil Mishara made 20 runs. Interestingly, he is only of the three cricketers who managed to score in double digits for Sri Lanka.
Charith Asalanka and Dasun Shanaka were the two other cricketers to score in double digits, as they made 18 and 15, respectively. The Chevrons had a phenomenal outing with the ball, which was led by captain Sikandar Raza. The veteran all-rounder clinched three wickets and so did Brad Evans. Blessing Muzarabani picked two, as Sri Lanka were bundled 80 runs in the first innings. It is a massive concern for the side, especially with the Asia Cup around the corner.
When it came to the chase, Zimbabwe didnโt have it easy, but they managed to get over the line. Ryan Burl and Tashinga Musekiwa played some mature cricket to get the job done and help Zimbabwe make a comeback in the series. Meanwhile, it was Raza who was adjudged the Player of the Match for his impactful performance with the ball.
Sikandar Raza now has 18 POTM awards
With that, the 39-year-old now has 18 POTM awards to his name in T20Is, which is the most by any cricketer among Test-playing nations. He surpassed Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli earlier and now extended his lead in the race. After levelling the series 1-1, he lauded the team members and noted that the players were clinical in their approach.
โVery chuffed. We kept saying we are close to playing good cricket, it is nice to be on the other side of the result. There is a sigh of relief for everybody. We were a little upset with the losses, we were getting close but not crossing the line, the beauty of today was we were clinical,โ Raza said in the post-match presentation.