Veteran Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza is on the verge of a historic milestone in T20I cricket. The Zimbabwe captain requires just 15 more runs to become the first player from his country to score 3000 runs in the shortest format.
Raza is expected to chase the landmark in Zimbabwe’s must-win Super Eight encounter against the India national cricket team at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup.
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So far, Raza has scored 2985 runs in 131 matches and 126 innings at an average of 26.18. His T20I record includes 16 half-centuries and one century.
If he reaches the milestone, Raza will become the 14th batter overall to cross 3000 T20I runs, joining an elite list that includes Babar Azam, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jos Buttler, Paul Stirling, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Waseem, David Warner, Suryakumar Yadav, Virandeep Singh, Aaron Finch and Quinton de Kock.
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Must-win stakes for Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe head into the clash after a heavy 107-run defeat to the West Indies cricket team at the Wankhede Stadium, where they were chasing 255.
All-rounder Ryan Burl stressed the importance of the upcoming match
"It is a must-win match for us; it's also a must-win game for India. There's obviously a lot at stake here, being a World Cup game, and if we are to progress to the semi-finals, we both want to look at winning tomorrow's game. So I think we are both excited. Obviously, we don't get to play India a lot, so it's something that we really have been looking forward to, and we will grab the opportunity with both hands," Burl said during the pre-match press conference.
