Sikandar Raza Makes History with 3,000 Runs and 100 Wickets in T20Is
Sikandar Raza Achieves Historic Milestone
Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India] - February 26: Zimbabwe's captain, Sikandar Raza, has made history by becoming the first cricketer from a Full Member nation to achieve the remarkable feat of scoring 3,000 runs and taking 100 wickets in Men's T20 Internationals.
Raza reached this significant milestone during Zimbabwe's Super Eight match against India in the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday. He crossed the 3,000-run threshold with his 15th run in the game, marking him as the 14th player globally to reach this landmark in T20Is.
At 39 years old, Raza made his T20I debut in 2013 and achieved this milestone in his 132nd match. He has accumulated 3,016 runs in 132 appearances (127 innings) with an average of 26.22 and a strike rate exceeding 136. His impressive record includes one century and 16 half-centuries. With the ball, Raza has taken 104 wickets at an average of 23.94, featuring two four-wicket hauls and one five-wicket haul.
As reported by ESPNcricinfo, Raza is only the second player in history to accomplish the rare double of 3,000 runs and 100 wickets in T20Is, with Malaysia's Virandeep Singh being the only other player to do so.
In the same Super Eight match, Raza also achieved another significant milestone by scoring his seventh run of the innings, which brought his overall T20 runs to 7,000. Across 348 T20 matches, he has recorded one century and 37 fifties, showcasing his durability and consistency in the shortest format of the game.
Importantly, Raza stands as the only Zimbabwean cricketer to surpass the 3,000-run mark in T20Is, with no other player from Zimbabwe even nearing the 2,000-run milestone. Ryan Burl follows with 1,943 runs in T20Is.
In the match, Raza scored 31 runs off 21 balls and also took a wicket while bowling.
Unfortunately, Zimbabwe lost the match by a significant margin of 72 runs, resulting in their elimination from the tournament.