{"id":106880,"date":"2026-03-01T12:03:02","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T12:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/?p=106880"},"modified":"2026-03-01T12:03:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T12:03:02","slug":"razas-masterclass-lifts-zimbabwe-to-153-against-south-africa-in-world-cup-super-eights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/?p=106880","title":{"rendered":"Raza\u2019s Masterclass Lifts Zimbabwe to 153 Against South Africa in World Cup Super Eights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>New Delhi, March 1: Captain <strong>Sikandar Raza<\/strong> produced a scintillating display of power and precision to propel <strong>Zimbabwe<\/strong> to a competitive 153 for 7 against <strong>South Africa<\/strong> in their <strong>2026 Men\u2019s T20 World Cup<\/strong> Super Eights clash at the <strong>Arun Jaitley Stadium<\/strong> on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On a surface offering a hint of grass but rewarding clean strokeplay, Raza enthralled a crowd of nearly 17,500 with a commanding 73 off 43 deliveries. Batting through the heart of the innings, the Zimbabwe skipper showcased sublime timing and placement, striking 12 of his side\u2019s 13 boundaries between overs five and 17. His knock not only anchored the innings but also injected momentum whenever wickets threatened to stall progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Support, however, was at a premium. Wicketkeeper <strong>Clive Madande<\/strong> provided the only notable assistance with an unbeaten 26 off 20 balls, ensuring Zimbabwe crossed the 150-run mark. The rest of the batting line-up found scoring difficult against a disciplined South African attack, even though the Proteas opted to rest senior names <strong>Kagiso Rabada<\/strong>, <strong>Keshav Maharaj<\/strong>, and <strong>Marco Jansen<\/strong> ahead of the semi-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fringe bowlers seized their opportunity. Teenage left-arm quick <strong>Kwena Maphaka<\/strong> stood out with impressive figures of 2 for 21, while <strong>Corbin Bosch<\/strong> chipped in with 2 for 40, keeping Zimbabwe under constant pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Electing to bat first, Zimbabwe\u2019s innings began in curious fashion as opener <strong>Tadiwanashe Marumani<\/strong> attempted a one-handed reverse sweep off <strong>George Linde<\/strong> on the very first ball. Though the audacious stroke amused spectators, Marumani\u2019s stay was brief as he soon lost his leg stump trying to force Maphaka across the line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The in-form <strong>Brian Bennett<\/strong> briefly lifted the tempo with elegant timing, whipping and pulling boundaries off Linde and <strong>Lungi Ngidi<\/strong>. His promising knock ended when a sharp 145.8 kph delivery from <strong>Anrich Nortje<\/strong> induced a miscued loft to mid-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With <strong>Dion Myers<\/strong> under examination from Maphaka, Raza wasted no time in asserting himself. A streaky edge for four off Bosch signalled intent, followed by authoritative pulls and drives as Zimbabwe reached 45 for 2 at the end of the powerplay. Raza then took on Nortje and skipper <strong>Aiden Markram<\/strong>, dispatching both pace and spin with equal disdain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Wickets continued to tumble at the other end. Myers top-edged Linde to mid-wicket, <strong>Ryan Burl<\/strong> was trapped lbw by Ngidi\u2019s slower ball, and Bosch uprooted <strong>Tony Munyonga<\/strong> with a scrambled-seam delivery. Unfazed, Raza marched on, reaching his fifty in just 29 balls with a single through square leg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The onslaught intensified as Raza drilled Nortje and Ngidi through extra cover and repeatedly found the fence off Bosch. The highlight came when he pulled Maphaka over mid-wicket for a towering six, sending the crowd into raptures. Madande joined the act with a crisp sweep for four, but Raza\u2019s superb innings ended when a cutter from Maphaka caught him by surprise, the leading edge settling in the cover fielder\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At that stage, Zimbabwe\u2019s hopes of a 150-plus total looked uncertain. Madande\u2019s late flourish, including a drive off Nortje, and <strong>Brad Evans<\/strong> lofting Ngidi for six ensured the total crossed the psychological barrier, even though Bosch finished strongly with a yorker to end Evans\u2019 stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Brief Scores:<\/strong> Zimbabwe 153\/7 in 20 overs (Sikandar Raza 73, Clive Madande 26 not out) vs South Africa (Kwena Maphaka 2-21, Corbin Bosch 2-40).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New Delhi, March 1: Captain Sikandar Raza produced a scintillating display of power and precision to propel Zimbabwe to a competitive 153 for 7 against South Africa in their 2026 Men\u2019s T20 World Cup Super Eights clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium on Sunday. On a surface offering a hint of grass but rewarding clean &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":106881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[88],"post_format":[],"flags":[],"class_list":["post-106880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-news","tag-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=106880"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":106882,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106880\/revisions\/106882"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/106881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=106880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=106880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=106880"},{"taxonomy":"post_format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fpost_format&post=106880"},{"taxonomy":"flags","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mavericknews30.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fflags&post=106880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}