Sikandar Raza nears historic 3000 T20I runs for Zimbabwe cricket

Zimbabwe's Sikandar Raza is 15 runs away from the 3000 T20I run landmark, a first for his country. He targets this in the must-win T20 World Cup Super Eight clash against India, a high-stakes game for both teams to keep semi-final hopes alive.

Sikandar Raza on the verge of historic milestone

Veteran all-rounder Sikandar Raza is just 15 runs away from becoming the first Zimbabwe cricketer to reach the landmark of 3000 runs in T20I cricket. The Zimbabwe captain will eye this historic milestone during the must-win clash against the defending champions India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday.

Currently, the all-rounder has smashed 2985 runs in 131 matches and 126 innings. Raza has an average of 26.18 and has hammered 16 half-centuries and one century in the shortest format.

Overall, Raza could become the 14th cricketer to score 3000 or more runs in T20I cricket after Babar Azam, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Jos Buttler, Paul Stirling, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Waseem, David Warner, Suryakumar Yadav, Virandeep Singh, Aaron Finch and Quinton de Kock.

High-stakes Super Eight clash

Meanwhile, Zimbabwe all-rounder Ryan Burl acknowledged the high stakes involved as his side gears up for a crucial Super Eight clash against the defending champions India in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup on Thursday. Zimbabwe suffered a thrashing loss in their opening Super Eight fixture against the West Indies. Zimbabwe lost the one-sided fixture at the Wankhede by 107 while chasing a monstrous target of 255.

With both teams fighting to keep their semi-final hopes alive, Burl admitted that the contest carries immense significance for Zimbabwe as well as India. India, too, is under pressure after the defending champions suffered a humiliating 76-run loss in the Super Eight phase opener, which has put the defending champions in a tricky phase.

'It is a must-win match for us'

"It is a must-win match for us; it's also a must-win game for India. There's obviously a lot at stake here, being a World Cup game, and if we are to progress to the semi-finals, we both want to look at winning tomorrow's game. So I think we are both excited. Obviously, we don't get to play India a lot, so it's something that we really have been looking forward to, and we will grab the opportunity with both hands," Burl said during the pre-match press conference.

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