‘The heavy roller did the trick’ - Captain Sikandar Raza analyses Zimbabwe’s 10-wicket defeat to India

Ahead of the fourth T20I of the series in Harare, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza analysed that the surface would slow down in the second innings and for the same reason, he was happy to bat first. However, the surface didn’t change in the latter half as Zimbabwe went on to lose the match by 10 wickets. After the game, the captain noted that the heavy roller used during the innings break helped the Indian batters, as they looked flawless in the middle.

Zimbabwe posted 152 runs in the first innings and the veteran all-rounder thought that they could challenge the visitors as the wicket was damp in nature. However, the way Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill batted, he believed that even 180 runs were not enough. The 38-year-old also expressed that the batters didn’t do well in the death overs, which put pressure on the hosts. Meanwhile, he hopes to finish the series on a high with a victory in the fifth and final T20I on July 14.

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“I think the wicket was a bit damp and we thought 160 was par. But with the way they batted even 180 would have not been enough. We keep growing and learning from each game. I think 8-10 runs more in the last 5 overs. There was a bit of kick and bounce, so we had to rein ourselves in at the start of the innings,” Raza said in the post-match presentation. "The heavy roller in the innings break did the trick for them, it became a beautiful wicket and they could play on the up. There is a game tomorrow and even if we lose 3-2 then we can keep our head high."

For India, Jaiswal and Gill had a phenomenal night. The southpaw smashed an unbeaten 93 off just 53 deliveries while Gill hit an unbeaten 58 off 39 as India chased the total in 15.2 overs.