Sharjah [UAE], October 30 (ANI): Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza expressed disappointment over what he described as “complacency” among some of his teammates after his side suffered a 19-run defeat against Afghanistan in Sharjah, conceding the T20I series on Thursday.
Despite his unbeaten 106 off 56 balls, Raza could not prevent Afghanistan from securing victory, with Azmatullah Omarzai’s 116 off 50 deliveries proving decisive.
Raza said the biggest disappointment was the lack of belief among some players after Afghanistan were reduced to 5/4, stressing that the team must remain mentally strong and continue fighting until the final ball. He added that he would address the issue with the players in the dressing room.
“For me, before I go too much in detail [about the match] – and I will address that in the changing room – the toughest part to swallow was the complacency that I saw from some of the boys,” Raza said as per Cricinfo.
“[At 5 for 4] some of the boys were probably calculating that it will be – 130, 140 max – at the end of 20 hours. Some of the things that I saw on the ground today certainly hurt me, and I’ll address that in the changing room because, listen, it can happen, but I think that’s where you have to be mentally very strong and say, ‘no, the game is never over until it’s over – we still have a job in hand, and I’m going to be the guy who’s going to get the job done,” he added.
Raza stressed the need for his players to avoid complacency and never take a game lightly, warning that such an attitude could prove costly, as demonstrated by their defeat against Afghanistan.
“Before I dissect the game with batting or bowling, I think that’s something that I felt today out there in the middle, and that’s something that needs to be addressed, not to take this game for granted because it can bite back and today is a great example,” Raza said.
Zimbabwe appeared firmly in control at the halfway stage of Afghanistan’s innings, having reduced their opponents to 45/5. However, Azmatullah Omarzai and Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai (52 off 27) staged a remarkable recovery to take Afghanistan to 221/7. In response, Zimbabwe mounted a spirited fightback, led by none other than their skipper Raza.
Raza also said he focused on keeping his emotions under control during the chase and remained determined to win regardless of the situation.
He revealed that Zimbabwe believed they could pull off the chase until the final two overs but admitted they had left themselves with too much to do towards the end.
“When you’re chasing 222, for me the biggest thing was to try and stay in control of my emotions because the way we conducted ourselves in the first innings hurt me. So when we go out to bat, for me it was trying to win the game from any position. That has been our motto, and in my head, I was just calculating how best I could go about my business, and hopefully the other batters chip in so that we can win the game,” Raza said.
“Up until the last two overs [by when they needed 46 from 12], we were backing ourselves to win the game, but yeah, I think we left ourselves too much,” he concluded. (ANI)
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