NEW DELHI: Sikandar Raza’s sublime ball striking stood out in an otherwise ordinary batting display as South Africa restricted Zimbabwe to 153 for seven in their final Super 8 game of the T20 World Cup here on Sunday.
Zimbabwe captain Raza hammered 73 off 43 balls while the other batters struggled to find the same fluency against high quality pace.
The batters, barring Raza, attempted to attack the likes of Kwena Maphaka, Anrich Nortje and the in form Lungi Ngidi but were unsuccessful.
Maphaka and Nortje are not even part of South Africa’s usual playing eleven, with Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Keshav Maharaj rested for the inconsequential game ahead of the semifinal against New Zealand national cricket team in Kolkata.
Having done well to reach the Super 8 stage, Zimbabwe have found it tough to replicate their league stage success against the bigger teams.
Raza knows what they need to do to consistently challenge the established sides, but they are not there yet.
Power hitting is a critical aspect of the shortest format and the team needs more batters like Raza to put high quality attacks under pressure.
On Sunday, openers Tadiwanashe Marumani (7) and Brian Bennett (15) began positively against left arm spinner George Linde but could not force the pace against the quicks.
Left handed Marumani saw his leg stump rattled as he attempted to smash left arm pacer Maphaka out of the park.
Bennett has been consistent at the top of the order but, when he tried to dispatch Nortje over mid off, he was unable to clear the fielder.
However, Raza batted with authority after being hurried by Nortje off his very first ball.
He pulled Corbin Bosch for a six over deep backward square leg and also collected a couple of fours in the sixth over, taking Zimbabwe to 45 for two in six overs.
Raza continued to find the boundary at will, though wickets kept falling at regular intervals at the other end.
The Zimbabwe captain showed he was a cut above the rest of the batting line up by backing away to Nortje for a drive past mid off and then striking a flat six over deep mid wicket off the following ball in the eighth over.
He went on to complete a well deserved half century off 29 balls, but the support never arrived, leaving Zimbabwe with a below par total.