NEW DELHI: Skipper Sikandar Raza smashed the joint second-fastest T20I century as Zimbabwe hammered by Gambia by a document 290 runs within the T20 World Cup sub-regional Africa qualifier match on Wednesday.
Delivering a shocking efficiency, Raza smoked an unbeaten 133 off simply 43 balls, powering Zimbabwe to an unprecedented 344 for 4.
The match set a number of information, together with within the largest win in T20 cricket historical past — 290 runs.
Launching 15 sixes, Raza hit his first T20I century and guided Zimbabwe to surpass Nepal’s earlier T20 highest rating of 314 for 3 in opposition to Mongolia final yr throughout the Asian Video games.
Zimbabwe then dismantled Gambia’s batting lineup, taking pictures them out for 54 in 14.four overs. The victory beat the earlier record-winning margin of 273 runs set by Nepal in opposition to Mongolia.
The staff additionally set a brand new document for sixes in an innings with 27, narrowly surpassing Nepal’s 26.
Raza’s century got here off simply 33 balls, marking him as the primary Zimbabwean participant to attain a ton within the format.
Openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani contributed considerably, scoring 50 and 62 respectively and placing on a 98-run partnership from 34 balls for the primary wicket.
Raza, together with Clive Madande, who remained unbeaten on 53, added an unbeaten 141 runs off 40 balls for the fifth wicket.
No bowler from Gambia was spared, with seamer Musa Jobarteh conceding 93 runs in his 4 overs, marking an undesirable T20 document. The earlier worst figures have been by Matthew McKiernan for Derbyshire, conceding 82 in 4 overs in opposition to Somerset in 2022.
Earlier within the day, Canterbury opener Chad Bowes broke the document for the quickest double century in males’s Record A matches, reaching the milestone in 103 balls in opposition to Otago.
Zimbabwe stay up for advancing within the Africa qualifying phases for the 2026 T20 World Cup, set to be hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
