Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza has blamed a bad day in the field as the main reason for the Chevrons’ 23-run loss against India in the third T20I match of the series at Harare Sports Club on Wednesday.
The defeat gave India, who are fielding a young side after their recent T20 World Cup triumph, a 2-1 series lead in the five match series.
After pulling off a shock win in the first and being outplayed in the second match, Zimbabwe put up a good fight in the third T20.
In fact the hosts were left ruing the number of sloppy misfields and dropped catches in the first innings as they significantly contributed to India’s challenging target of 182 after opting to bat first.
Raza admitted afterwards that they gave away 20 runs extra in the first inning which he reckons ultimately cost them the match.
“I think it’s the fielding again, we are proud of our fielding but the wheels came off today, we gave away 20 extra runs and we lost by 23 runs. We still have problems at the top but I have utmost faith in them that they will come good some time. We have tried 15 different partners (openers) in the last year and a half or so,” Raza said.
He added that the senior players need to step up and take more responsibility after an error strewn display in the field and another poor effort by the top order batting department.
“It’s time that our (senior) players including myself take up the responsibility. The youngsters making mistakes is acceptable but the senior players need to step up. You cannot fix a problem by creating another problem, we have picked 3 openers for a reason. The openers that have been picked up should be given a run,” Raza noted.
After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India got off to an emphatic start courtesy of a fine 67-run partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal, who made 36 in 27 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes and skipper Shubman Gill.
Gill would later go on to anchor India’s innings with a superb knock of 66 in 49 balls, featuring seven fours and three sixes.
He shared a 72-run partnership with Ruturaj Gaikwad, who made 49 in 28 balls, as India scored 182/4 in their 20 overs.
Blessing Muzarbani (2/25) and Sikandar Raza (2/24) were the pick of the bowlers for Zimbabwe.
In the run-chase of 183 runs, India had Zimbabwe struggling at 39/5. Later, a 77-run partnership between Dion Myers (65* in 49 balls, with seven fours and a six) and Clive Madande (37 in 26 balls, with two fours and two sixes) gave Zimbabwe’s innings a new lease of life. However, Indian bowlers bounced back on time to keep Zimbabwe at 159/6 at the end of their 20 overs.
Washington Sundar (3/15) and Avesh Khan (2/39) were the top bowlers for India. Khaleel Ahmed also got a wicket each.