Zimbabwe’s record win at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub Regional Africa Qualifier Group B left them to annihilate Gambia by a gigantic margin of 290 runs. The contest, which took place on 23rd October in Nairobi, has been referred to history for Sikandar Raza’s records against Gambia with whom he not only broke multiple individual records but took Zimbabwe to the team with the highest ever total in T20I cricket as well.
Zimbabwe batted first and scored 344/4, hence beating Nepal’s highest score to date, 314, and thus going into the history books. Sikandar Raza is at the centre of the limelight, including his unbeaten 133 off just 43 balls, making him the highest individual scorer for Zimbabwe in T20Is. In this blistering innings, Raza hit 15 sixes, hence breaking the record for most sixes in an innings by a Zimbabwean, which he had previously made at nine.
This boundary-hitting spree also added another record to the tally. Raza has hit 118 runs off boundaries alone and broke a Zimbabwean record for scoring the most runs off boundaries in an innings of a T20I game. His feat overtakes Dion Myers, who had hit eight sixes in the earlier innings to set then the record. Raza’s records against Gambia became the point of pivot of Zimbabwe’s sensational innings as the bowlers of Gambia were left helpless.
The worst belonged to Gambia’s Musa Jobarteh, who let in 93 runs in his four-over spell, which marks the most runs conceded by a bowler in a T20I innings. It broke Kasun Rajitha’s earlier record of 75 runs. Zimbabwe didn’t let up in its onslaught at all. And Gambia’s bowlers couldn’t stem the tide, especially when Sikandar Raza was scoring at a record rate versus Gambia.
Sikandar Raza’s records against Gambia were limelight of the show: But how did Gambia perform?
Gambia didn’t do much better once its batsmen were in. Chasing a target of 345, they folded for just 54 in 14.4 overs, handing Zimbabwe a 290-run victory, the largest margin of victory in T20I history. Zimbabwe vs Gambia turned out to be a one-sided affair. Notably, Richard Ngarava and Brandon Mavuta were more than taking charge with the ball. Ngarava was the hero, picking three wickets for only 13 runs, while Mavuta’s 3/10 tore through Gambia’s lower order. Wessly Madhevere then chipped in with 2/7, as Gambia never looked like being in the game.
Zimbabwe’s supremacy beyond individual fireworks continued through to the end as contributions from Brian Bennett’s 50 off 26 balls and Tadiwanashe Marumani-62 off 19 balls laid down the foundations for the eventual massive total. Clive Madande’s 53* from 17 balls further tilted Zimbabwe’s win, further solidifying the hold it had in the game. Sikandar Raza’s records against Gambia did well to put a timestamp on a magnificent team performance that reeled in several records, rewriting T20I history.
Apart from exposing the vast gulf in class between the two sides, Zimbabwe vs Gambia has also ensured Zimbabwe’s credentials in this tournament. Raza’s brilliance with the bat in hand will not easily be forgotten when he single-handedly guided his team to a landmark win. His records of the highest individual score, most sixes, and most runs in boundaries in a T20I innings will stand tall as some of the finest achievements in Zimbabwe’s T20I history.
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