30 Boundaries, 27 Sixes, 344 Runs; Zimbabwe Shatter Record Books As Sikandar Raza Scripts Carnage

Zimbabwe broke a plethora of records in a T20 World Cup qualifiers fixture against Gambia on Thursday including the highest T20I total.

Nairobi (Kenya):Zimbabwe broke several records in the Group B fixture of the ICC Mens T20 World Cup Sub Regional Africa Qualifier against Gambia on Wednesday. Sikandar Raza and Co. amassed the highest T20 total of 344/4 in the match as the skipper played a knock of unbeaten 133 runs from 43 deliveries. Raza completed his century in just 33 deliveries and played a vital role in the highest T20 total scored by Zimbabwe. Brian Bennett (50 off 26), Tadiwanashe Marumani (62 off 19) and Clive Madande (53 off 17) also chipped in with their innings in the slog fest.

Chasing a huge total, Gambia were bundled out for just 54 as Brandon Mavuta (3/10), Richard Ngarava (3/13), Wessly Madhevere (2/7) and Ryan Burl (1/5) shared wickets for them. Several records were set in the fixture including the biggest win in the T20 cricket - 290 runs. The Zimbabwean side also set the record for most sixes in a T20I innings surpassing Nepal’s tally of 26 maximums. Raza completed his hundred in just 33 deliveries becoming the first Zimbabwean player to score a ton in the format. It was also the fastest T20I century by a player of the full-member nation.

Zimbabwe scored 282 runs from boundaries and sixes surpassing India’s record of amassing 232 runs from big hits against Bangladesh in a recent T20I. Also, they broke the previous record for most sixes in an innings Nepal (26) by hitting 27 maximums.

Gambia pacer Musa Jobarteh conceded 93 runs from four overs which was the most expensive spell in the shortest format. Previously, Matthew McKiernan of Derbyshire conceded 82 in four overs against Somerset in 2022.

Raza won the Player of the Match for his stellar knock which played a key role in Zimbabwe’s huge total.