It's just unbelievable: Raza on Zimbabwe shock win against Australia

Zimbabwe stand-in skipper Sikandar Raza described their stunning 23-run win over Australia as unbelievable, saying the culture, unity and environment built within the squad made the result possible.

Zimbabwe stand-in skipper Sikandar Raza described their stunning 23-run win over Australia as ''unbelievable'', saying the culture, unity and environment built within the squad made the result possible. Zimbabwe shocked Australia in their Group B clash of the T20 World Cup at the R Premadasa Stadium here on Friday, successfully defending 169/2 as the heavyweights folded for 146 in 19.3 overs. ''Very happy and above all, very proud. Feeling of a brother whose younger brothers are achieving a lot together,'' he said at the post-match presentation. Raza scored an unbeaten 25 off 13 balls and opened the bowling, but a severe leg cramp while sending down the ninth over forced him off the field in agony, leaving him to watch from the dressing room as his young side scraped home for a historic win. ''So it was nice to watch from outside and see how the team went about their business, the culture, the environment, the unity that we have taken, that we have created over a long time. Just to see it from outside, I was extremely proud, and on top of that, a win. It's just unbelievable. ''But the way we came and the way we bowled, the way we started, the way we fielded every catch, some of the boundary stops, it's just unbelievable. I mean, there's nothing to fault the boys for. It looked like the boys wanted it, and I think they really did and they deserved to win today.'' Fast bowlers Blessing Muzarabani (4/17) and Brad Evans (3/23) ripped through Australia's top order inside four overs, dismissing Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Tim David and Travis Head to set up the victory. Raza revealed he battled cramps and is managing a thin squad. ''In Sri Lanka, this is not the first time that's happened, but sometimes, just the pressure of the game and leading a side, the workload and everything, these things can happen. ''But all I can tell you is, these are just cramps. I know over the next day or two with good recovery, it should be fine.'' The victory was more special as it came without their skipper Brendan Taylor who has been ruled out of the tournament because of a hamstring injury. ''We have just 13 able bodies right now and I went down and even (Graeme) Cremer has a bit of a niggle. But I am sure Zimbabwe Cricket is looking into the replacements because in these conditions, you need 15 able bodies. ''The boys deserve to enjoy today. If we keep the same processes, and take it one game at a time (it'll be good). We are in a great position, but it doesn't mean anything. So the next game is now the most important one,'' Raza added. The result threw Group B wide open as Zimbabwe are just behind leaders Sri Lanka on net run-rate, while Australia slipped to third, leaving them in must-win territory against Sri Lanka (February 16) and Oman (February 20). Been there before: Head looks at 2023 ODI WC blueprint =================================== Stand-in Australia skipper Travis Head, however, said there was no need to panic, drawing parallels with their 2023 ODI World Cup triumph that began with back-to-back defeats. ''We've been there before. I said at the toss, we saw it in 2023 with a few defeats and injuries. We have a few guys here who were there in India in 2023 and we'll look to navigate this situation and use that blueprint.'' Explaining the decision to bowl first, Head said the surface appeared slightly tacky but felt 170 was chaseable. ''We thought it's a good wicket. A bit tacky at the start and we thought it would be even through the two innings. Even though we only took two wickets, I thought they were a bit under par. ''But we lost early wickets and came under pressure. They played well. I still felt like we'd have taken the score and were happy to chase that. ''The feedback throughout was that it was a good wicket. We put ourselves under pressure by losing wickets. We found a partnership in the middle but we left ourselves with too many.'' Injury concerns continue to haunt Australia, with Mitchell Marsh sidelined due to a groin issue, while Tim David returned from a hamstring strain. The pace attack is also depleted, with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood unavailable -- the first time since 2011 that Australia are featuring at a World Cup without Cummins, Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc together.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)