Sikandar Raza admits 'letting the team down' after T20I loss to India

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza admitted he has let the team down with his batting after the 90-run defeat to India in the second T20I. Acknowledging his own lean run, he vowed to improve as his runs would significantly benefit the team.

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza admitted he has let the team down with his batting after the 90-run defeat to India in the second T20I. While praising the positive intent shown by the openers, he said Zimbabwe's inexperience and poor shot selection proved costly.

Raza has endured a lean run in T20 cricket, registering three successive single-digit scores. He managed just 3 against Bangladesh before being dismissed for 4 and a duck in the first two T20Is against India. "Yeah, we were going to go for it anyway, and if you look at our openers as well, I think they gave us that sort of a start we needed. Unfortunately, I think it all comes down to sometimes inexperience, [and] sometimes the shot selection, where we're letting ourselves down. But most importantly, I think I, as a captain leading the team, have been letting the team down with my bat," Raza said.

Raza Vows to Improve

Raza acknowledged his poor performances, saying Zimbabwe need greater contributions from him with both bat and ball. He vowed to improve in the remaining matches, stressing that his runs would significantly benefit the team.

"But the onus is on me to try and get it right because my team needs my runs and bowling, and unfortunately it hasn't been the case in the past two T20 games," he said. "I'll try my best to turn it around because the team could do really well with my runs."

Zimbabwe's Batting Struggles

Zimbabwe's batting struggles have been evident in their last three T20Is, with the team managing scores of just 143 and 126 while batting first, before being bowled out for 129 in a chase.

The third T20I between India and Zimbabwe will be played in Harare on Sunday, with the hosts and captain Sikandar Raza hoping to turn their fortunes around and avoid a 3-0 series sweep. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)