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Cricket

Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh for the first time since 2013: Raza and Kaia stars of the match

Sikandar Raza and Innocent Kaia both hit hundreds to help Zimbabwe beat Bangladesh in an ODI for the first time in nine years. Bangladesh batted first and scored an impressive 303-2 at Harare Sports Club. Zimbabwe responded with 307-5 and 10 balls to spare, equaling their greatest chase. Zimbabwe lost its first two batters and was 62-3, but Innocent Kaia and Sikandar Raza both struck century — both in the same over — to lead their side to victory in the first of three One-Day Internationals.

The pair contributed 192 runs for the fourth wicket, shattering a 25-year partnership record and setting Zimbabwe’s new highest against Bangladesh. Raza and Kaia also became Zimbabwe’s second century-scoring pair in the same ODI innings. To think they genuinely came together when the score was 62 for 3 and the game was almost done for.

In the 14th over, Kaia, playing his fourth ODI, mistakenly ran out Wessly Madhevere while going for a second single, dropping Zimbabwe to 62-3. But he and Raza, who was playing in his 115th ODI, worked to fix the damage and start a counterattack.

Kaia was dropped on 68 and 74 in the same over, but he hit his first century from 115 balls. Raza completed his fourth century in 81 balls, the third quickest for Zimbabwe. It was only the second occasion in ODI history that two Zimbabwe batters got hundreds in the same match. The last time that happened was in 2004.

raza“There’s pressure to do well and win the game, there’s pressure. I won’t lie,” Raza told reporters. “Of course, it helps that I am from an Air Force background. We don’t give up. I get hit, I get hurt, broken fingers, toes, etc. I don’t care. I personally feel it helps spending the three-and-a-half years in PAF college. I will always be a fighter within myself. I couldn’t become a fighter pilot. But I think as a person, I will always be a fighter. The training mentally and physically is paying dividends now.”

Zimbabwe were chasing knowing that the hard-hitting Ryan Burl, who had a side injury while bowling, would not be able to bat. Raza was batting alongside debutant Innocent Kaia against a Bangladesh bowling attack desperate for wickets. He was also in discomfort from an earlier inside edge slamming into his inner thigh.

“The innings was starting to flow. Innocent was playing magnificently, so the pressure was off me. We hit a few boundaries and then it was just momentum. The plan was to win the game but we broke it down to small parts. We wanted to achieve those small targets, and take it from there.” he added.

Raza, who was just crowned Player of the Series in the T20 World Cup qualifier, seized the game with both hands, hitting 14 boundaries, including six sixes, the last of which was the game-winning smash. He had previously been their top bowler, taking 1-48.

Bangladesh, who entered this game with a 19-match winning streak over Zimbabwe, will lament their poor ending with the bat as they become the fourth side in ODI history to lose a game in which they only lost two wickets. Bangladesh’s 303 for 2 total was based around four half-centuries, but it was the large partnerships that truly aided them. Tamim and Litton tallied 119 runs, their fourth 100-run partnership. Tamim was the first to cross fifty, and when he hit 57 runs, he became the first Bangladeshi to surpass 8,000 ODI runs.

Tamim Iqbal, Bangladesh’s captain, acknowledged a fielding issue, but pointed out that fielding has been an area of concern all along.
“Our total fielding effort hurt us. We have given away too many easy runs,” Tamim stated. “We could have created a little more pressure through dot balls, instead we conceded easy singles. You can point out a lot of things when we lose. But when we win, I always give the reminder what mistakes we have made. We got away with dropping catches and not fielding well, but today it got back to hurt us.”
Bangladesh will attempt to win the match against Zimbabwe when the teams meet for the second time on Sunday.

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