Twitter Reactions: Sikandar Raza, bowlers steal famous victory for Zimbabwe against Pakistan

Zimbabwe defeated Pakistan by one run to seal a historic win.

By Chaitanya Prakash

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3 Min Read

Pakistan vs Zimbabwe
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Pakistan vs Zimbabwe. (Photo Source: Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Zimbabwe pulled off the shock of the tournament by defeating Pakistan by a solitary run in another mind-boggling thriller at the Perth Stadium in the ongoing T20 World Cup. Pakistan were the favourites heading into the game and looked set for a victory after restricting Zimbabwe to just 130 runs in the first innings.

Pakistan's chase was off to a rocky start as their most experienced batting pair of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam were dismissed cheaply inside the powerplay for the second game running. Iftikhar Ahmed, who was the hero with the bat for Pakistan in their previous encounter, was sent back after nicking a delivery down the leg side.

That is when Shan Masood and Shadab Khan steadied the ship for the Men in Green with a 52-run stand for the fourth wicket. But the Pakistani-born Sikandar Raza rocked Babar's side by dismissing two batters in two consecutive deliveries to bring his side back into the game. 

But it was the wicket of the well-set Shan Masood in Raza's final over that gave Zimbabwe the edge in the contest. The Zimbabwe pacers kept a lid on things as the extra pace and bounce in Perth proved to be too much for the Pakistani lower-order batters. Raza was sensational for Zimbabwe on a memorable night for the African outfit.

Mohammad Wasim Jr proves his worth with the ball

Earlier in the match, the Zimbabwe skipper Craig Ervine won the toss and elected to bat first on a lively pitch in Perth, surprising a fair few. But his decision seemed to be a masterstroke after he, along with the prodigious Wesley Madhevere, got off to a flier against the famed Pakistani pace attack.

The duo added 42 runs in the first five overs before the skipper was scalped by Haris Rauf in the penultimate over of the powerplay. Madhevere followed his skipper back to the pavilion just two deliveries later. Sean Williams played a vital hand of 31 runs to consolidate after the quick blows.

But the Pakistani bowlers were relentless in the second phase of the innings and restricted Zimbabwe to a below-par score of 130 runs after 20 overs. Mohammad Wasim Jr, who was drafted into the playing XI, returned with exceptional bowling figures of 4/24 after Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah went wicketless in the match.

Here is how Twitter reacted to another frantic affair in the 2022 T20 World Cup:

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T20 World Cup 2024ZimbabwePakistanMohammad NawazBabar AzamSikandar Raza