Sikander Raza breaks Rohit Sharma's legendary record with POTM performance vs Sri Lanka

Colombo:

Zimbabwe stunned Sri Lanka in their final T20 World Cup group stage game, pulling off a six-wicket win at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Captain Sikandar Raza was once again the chief component, playing a swashbuckling knock of 45 runs off just 26 balls as the Chevrons chased 182 runs with just three balls to spare. Opener Brian Bennett set the tempo, scoring a much-needed half-century, but Zimbabwe needed an explosive knock in the back end to get the job done.

Raza provided what the team needed, hitting two boundaries and four sixes. Thus, even though Bennett scored the half-century, the 39-year-old was adjudged the Player of the Match. With that, Raza became the oldest captain ever to win the award in the T20 World Cup.

He also broke Rohit Sharma’s record of the oldest captain to win a POTM award in an ICC event. The former India captain set the record during the Champions Trophy 2025 final, when he was adjudged POTM vs New Zealand for his knock of 76 runs. At that point, Rohit was 37 years and 331 days old, while Raza is currently 39 years and 301 days old.

Zimbabwe defied the odds

Sri Lanka and Australia were the favourites to progress to the Super Eights from group B. However, Zimbabwe beat both these teams to finish as league leaders. They are currently unbeaten in the tournament and that should give the team plenty of confidence for the next round, where they will face West Indies, India and South Africa. Ahead of that, Raza reflected on the performance, stating that it’s a wonderful position to be in.

“If I bring myself to the present, the effort the boys have shown over the last two weeks, I don’t think anybody gave us a chance to be where we are. So win people’s hearts and earn their respect, it’s a wonderful position to be in,” Raza said in the post-match presentation.

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