T20 World Cup 2022: Sikandar Raza lauds Zimbabwe coach Dave Houghton
Zimbabwe beat Ireland by 31 runs on Monday [Source: Twitter]
Zimbabwe's rise in cricket in 2022 has been phenomenal. They won the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 Qualifier Group B and proved their tenacity last evening in their opening encounter of the T20 World Cup against Ireland.
Spirited bowling from the likes of Blessing Muzarabani, Tendai Chatara, and Richard Ngarava enabled Zimbabwe to restrict the Irish side to under 145.
However, the star for Zimbabwe in 2022, across the ODIs and T20Is has been Sikandar Raza. He again led from the front and notched a 48-ball 82, which helped his side to 174 for 7.
Raza, speaking to the media, praised head coach and former Zimbabwe captain Dave Houghton for their recent success. The 64-year-old was appointed head coach in June after former India player Lalchand Rajput was named the side's Technical Director.
The 36-year-old revealed that Houghton's understanding of the players has contributed a long way.
"I think Dave has made a massive difference since he took over. Dave has understood the players and given us the freedom and brought a long list.
The fact that there's a lot of respect from the coaches and players, all those things he's allowed us to bloom and basically play with responsibility and freedom. So I think for that matter I think the credit goes to Dave and not me," as quoted by cricket.com
Talking about his bowling, which has been a constant affair lately, Raza credits West Indies spinner Sunil Narine as a significant help.
In 2022, Raza has scored 598 T20Is runs, and picked 16 wickets, while in 50-overs cricket, he has amassed 645 runs and claimed eight wickets.
The Craig Ervin-led XI takes on West Indies tomorrow in a crucial Group B tie.
 "Vishal Mehra")
