Colombo, Feb 13 (IANS) Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza expressed immense pride in his team’s all-round performance after their stunning 23-run victory over Australia in their second match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 played at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday.

Zimbabwe scored 169 while batting first and then bundled out Australia for just 146 runs in 19.3 overs with the help of a four-wicket haul by Blessing Muzarabani.

Raza said the win was a special moment for him personally as he watched his team thrive under pressure.

“Yeah, certainly, you know. I’m very happy, but above all, I’m very proud, a feeling of a brother who has his younger brother who is achieving a lot together. So it was nice to watch from outside and see how the team went about their business, the culture, the environment, the unity that we have taken, that we have created over a long time. Just to see it from the outside, I was extremely proud, and on top of that, a win. It’s just unbelievable,” he said in the post-match presentation,” he said.

Raza, who left the field in the second innings battling cramps, provided a positive update on his fitness.

“No, I’ve been here before. I mean, I know in Sri Lanka, this is not the first time that’s happened, but sometimes, you know, just the pressure of the game and leading a side, the workload and everything, these things can happen. But all I can tell you is, these are just cramps. I know over the next day or two with good recovery, it should be fine,” he added.

Raza revealed the clear message sent to the batters when Zimbabwe were 70 without loss and aiming to build a competitive total.

“70 on at 10, and we said we’re happy. And I know somebody said in the changing room that, yeah, 190 is on, and I said, ‘No. If you look for 190 now, it is 140 all-out. And then just keep going at 8s and 9s and see what happens, because over time and even from the previous tours we’ve been to Sri Lanka, we understand the wicket starts to get slower and lower, and the moment you try and go too hard too early, I mean, the cluster of wickets fell,” he said.

He also addressed concerns over squad depth after injury scares, which had previously ruled out Branden Taylor from the tournament.

“Yeah, certainly. So first of all, we’ve only got 13 able bodies in the squad, and then I went down. Cremer got a slight split webbing, but nothing serious. We even asked Dion Ebrahim to put the kit on in case we need him. But I think Zimbabwe cricket is looking into the replacements and things like that. I’m sure they’ll be here for the next game because ideally in these conditions, you don’t know what’s going to happen, so you want 15 able bodies available for selection at every given time.”

Raza also said that the team would stay grounded despite the big win and focus on one match at a time.

“It’s a great position to be in. But let’s just take one game at a time, exactly what we said at the start. And we’re going to take one game at a time and see where that takes us. Where we are is a great position, but it doesn’t guarantee anything. So the next game becomes the most important game for Zimbabwe now,” he added.

Zimbabwe will now face Ireland in their next group stage match in the T20 World Cup 2026 on February 17 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.

–IANS

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