Sikandar Raza of Zimbabwe (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Zimbabwean veteran Sikandar Raza stands on the brink of history as he approaches a major personal milestone in T20I cricket. The Zimbabwe captain needs just 15 more runs to become the first player from his country to reach 3000 runs in the shortest international format.Raza is expected to target a landmark in Zimbabwe’s must-win Super Eight against defending champions India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on Thursday.
Is it the end of the T20 World Cup for India? Greenstone Lobo predicts the results
So far, Raza has amassed 2985 runs in 131 matches and 126 innings at an average of 26.18. His record in T20Is includes 16 half-centuries and one century.If he succeeds, Raza will become the 14th batsman overall to cross the 3000-run mark in T20Is, joining an elite list that includes Babar Azam, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jos Buttler, Paul Stirling, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad, S Surepya Viseem, David Warrande Finch and Quinton de Kock.Meanwhile, Zimbabwean all-rounder Ryan Burl stressed the importance of the upcoming match. Zimbabwe were badly beaten by the West Indies cricket team in their first Super Eight match at the Wankhede Stadium, losing by 107 runs chasing a dismal 255.With both Zimbabwe and India desperate to keep their semi-final hopes alive, Burl acknowledged the magnitude of the competition.“It’s a must-win game for us; it’s also a must-win game for India. Obviously there’s a lot at stake here because it’s a World Cup game and if we’re going to go to the semi-finals, we both want to look at winning tomorrow’s game. So I think we’re both excited. Obviously we can’t play India too much, so we were both looking forward to the opportunity, which we’re really looking forward to, during the pre-match press conference.
