PAK vs ZIM: "That Motivated Me To Come Up With This Performance"- Sikandar Raza Appreciates Ricky Ponting For Inspiring Him

Sikandar Raza is imperturbable. If his recent batting prowess wasn’t enough to make a difference, his incredible growth as a bowler has given his value as a Zimbabwe player even more shine. In his team’s exciting one-run victory against Pakistan in the Super 12s match at Perth, it was on display once more.

While Sikandar Raza’s batting performance was unremarkable, he more than made up for it with a three-wicket haul that included consecutive wickets from Shadab Khan and Haider Ali to help Zimbabwe get back in the game. Raza had something to say about his outstanding bowling performance.

Got Goosebumps Listening To Ricky Ponting: Sikandar Raza

“I was excited today, and I watched this clip by Ricky Ponting earlier in the morning, and that motivated me to come up with this performance. I would like to thank Ricky Ponting for that,” Sikandar Raza said in the presentation ceremony.

“Some of my friends and family members messaged and they said they had a kind of tear in the eye,” Raza later said at the press conference after the game. “For me, I had goosebumps, one of the greats of this game talking about Zimbabwe and in particular me.”

The Zimbabwean all-rounder was making reference to a video in which Ponting praised Sikandar Raza for his ability to step up under pressure and for continually trying to get better.

“All the best players in the game that I’ve known, and across other sports as well, is when those big pressure moments come, that’s what they want,” the former Australian skipper said.

“You know Shane Warne was a great example of that, Glenn McGrath was a great example of that. Those players, they want that big moment, they want that stage and when they get there, they’re not going to let it slip.

They are gonna make the most of it and make sure they get the job done. And that’s what’s Sikandar has done so beautifully.

“At the age of 33 or 34, it’s not easy to get better and improve. But he’s found a way to improve whether it be 50-overs cricket or T20 cricket, probably under the most pressure that he’s ever been under in his life as far as the player is concerned,” he added.

Sikandar Raza Credits Seam Bowlers For Providing Amazing Start With The Ball

Zimbabwe’s bowlers were on the money from the get-go as their tall quicks took advantage of the bouncy Perth surface despite a below-par total on the board. The African side persisted even when things weren’t quite going their way, and Sikandar Raza then added a spell of his own. In fact, when Raza removed Shadab to begin the slide, Pakistan needed just 43 off 39 balls.

“I am lost for words, my mouth’s dry probably because of the emotions I am going through at the moment. I can’t tell you how proud I’m 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, really lost for words.”

Craig Ervine, the captain of Zimbabwe, praised his team’s perseverance in pulling off an unexpected victory. He shared Sikandar Raza’s enthusiasm for the fast bowlers, praising them for setting the tone early.

“So special. Especially for the work we did to get into the Super 12s. We wanted to come in and play some really good cricket against top teams and we did that exceptionally well today.

I thought after our batting performance, we thought we were maybe 20-25 short, but I thought our seamers hit their straps early on. Raza again came to the party as he always does and picked up a few crucial wickets in the middle there.”

We Were Not Upto The Mark: Babar Azam

While the Zimbabwe team was understandably filled with joy and excitement, it was everything but that for Pakistan, who suffered their second heartbreaking loss in a row. Babar Azam, the captain, bemoaned the absence of partnerships as the primary cause of the defeat.

“To be honest, we were not up to the mark, starting with the first six overs in the bowling, but later on we finished well,” stated Babar in the presser. “In the batting, we had a bad collapse. When me and Rizwan got out, Shan and Shadab built a partnership, but after Shadab got out, we had a collapse and we didn’t finish well.”

Pakistan is on the verge of being eliminated after two losses in as many games. Babar acknowledged that after two such losses, it was difficult to restore the team’s mental strength. “Very hard as a team or as a captain, but we’ll sit and discuss the mistakes and then we’ll come back strongly.”

On Sunday, October 30, Zimbabwe will travel to Brisbane to play Bangladesh at The Gabba, while Pakistan will play Netherlands in Perth the same day.

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