After his 23-run loss against India in the third T20I match of the series on Wednesday, Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza said that they gave away 20 runs extra in the first inning which cost them a match. Raza picked up two wickets and gave 24 runs in his four-over spell in the first inning. Meanwhile, He 15-run knock from 16 balls and smashed 3 fours in the second inning. Speaking after the match, Raza said that he is proud of his side’s fielding. He accepted that they still have problems at the top order but will bounce back in the upcoming matches.

“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 cannot afford to make mistakes in a match.

“There is a lot of cricket going on in the country and club cricket has revived. It’s time that our 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. (On Muzarabani) He has been outstanding, sometimes the rewards don’t come but in the long run the rewards do come,” he added.

Recapping the match, India opted to bat first. A fine 67-run partnership between Yashasvi Jaiswal (36 in 27 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) and skipper Shubman kickstarted things for India. Later Shubman (66 in 49 balls, with seven fours and three sixes) had a 72-run partnership with Ruturaj Gaikwad (49 in 28 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes). 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.

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