Brandon Moyo
Sports Reporter
ZIMBABWE Cricket T20I skipper, Sikandar Raza’s brilliant all-round performance was not enough for his International League T20 (ILT20) side Dubai Capitals as they suffered a three-wicket defeat at the hands of Gulf Giants on Saturday.
Raza top scored for Dubai Capitals as they were restricted to 132/7 in their 20 overs and went on to claim two scalps with the ball despite failing to restrict their opponents. Gulf Giants chased down the target in 18.4 overs, finishing on 133/7 in a low scoring encounter.
Coming in to bat at number six, with his team in trouble on 40/4 in 7.4 overs, Raza put up a brilliant batting performance, but fell three runs short of his half century from 36 balls. Their second leading run getter in the match was captain David Warner, who chipped in with 21 runs off 19 balls while Rahul Chopra made 20 runs off as many balls.
West Indies legend, Carlos Brathwaite, finished with figures of 3/26 in his four overs for Gulf Giants. Defending their sub-par total, Raza put up a gallant performance with the ball, taking two wickets for just eight runs in his three-over spell. He took the wickets of Usman Khan for 14 runs and that of Shimron Hetmyer for a two-ball duck.
Roelof Van der Merwe finished with figures of 3/27 in 3.4 overs for Dubai Capitals. Jordan Cox’s unbeaten 38 runs off 30 balls and Chris Lynn’s 37 runs from 22 balls helped Gulf Giants cross the line with only eight balls left.
Raza’s Dubai Capital now have four points from as many matches, with two victories and two defeats so far. Gulf Giants also have four points with two wins and two defeats. Next up for Raza and Dubai Capitals is a clash against Sharjah Warriors today. Sharjah Warriors have Chevrons star all-rounder Sean Williams in their books, but the Zimbabwean star is yet to play.
Meanwhile, in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), Chevrons fast bowler Richard Ngarava will be in action for Sylhet Strikers in their match against Chattogram Challengers today.
Ngarava featured in their previous match on Friday, which was a 52-run loss at the hands of Comilla Victorians.
Despite the defeat, it was a good outing for the 26-year-old Zimbabwean seamer who took two wickets for 25 runs in his four overs.
