Sikandar Raza took a hat-trick to finish off Zimbabwe’s comprehensive win over Rwanda in the ICC men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier to boost their chances of qualification for next year’s global tournament in West Indies and USA.
Zimbabwe defeated eventual runners-up Pakistan in last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia, but lost two of their first three matches to Namibia and Uganda to qualify this time. facing a tough battle. Only two teams will advance from the African Qualifying Tournament, and with Namibia sitting pretty high on the table with four wins out of their four matches, Zimbabwe realistically have to face Uganda and Kenya for second place. Get caught up in a three-way shootout.
Zimbabwe further boosted their hopes of overcoming a poor start in qualifying with their win against Rwanda today (November 27). Raza’s team built up a record of 215-4 in 20 overs, thanks to half-centuries from Raza himself and Tadiwanashe Malmani, and a quick 21-ball 44 from Ryan Buhr at the end. Rwanda never came close in the run chase, but in the end they came back with an all-out score of 71, increasing Zimbabwe’s net run rate and helping them win by 144 points.
The game was sealed by Raza, who took the last three wickets of the game with back-to-back deliveries. This was the first hat-trick achieved by a Zimbabwean bowler in men’s T20I cricket.
The win increases Zimbabwe’s chances of qualifying for next year’s T20 World Cup. Uganda are in 3rd place with 2 wins from 4 matches, but at the time of writing, they are in 4th place with one game remaining. If Uganda wins their remaining three matches against Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda, they will qualify ahead of Zimbabwe. Kenya is also eligible. They have lost one game so far (against Namibia) and still have to play qualifying rivals Zimbabwe and Uganda. Despite the two defeats, if the teams finish tied on points, Zimbabwe will boast the most competitive net run rate of the teams vying for his second place.
You can watch Sikandar Raza’s hat-trick below:
