Zimbabwe stunned Sri Lanka by six wickets with four balls to spare at Colombo's R. Premadasa Stadium on Thursday (February 19), topping Group B in the
process after earlier knocking out Australia.
Captain Sikandar Raza earned Player of the Match honors for his match-turning all-round display, chasing down 179 while securing multiple world records in the process.
Raza, batting at No. 4, smashed 45 off 26 balls at a blistering strike rate of 173.08-including two fours and four sixes-to swing the chase. He had earlier bowled his full four overs economically, conceding just 36 runs without a wicket.
This marked Raza's 20th POTM award in T20Is, making him the first from a Full Member Nation to hit this mark ahead of India's Suryakumar Yadav (with Virat Kohli third). Among non-Test nations, only Malaysia's Virandeep Singh (22) tops him.
Raza also broke Rohit Sharma's record as the oldest captain to win POTM in an ICC event and T20 World Cup, eclipsing the Indian's mark from the 2025 Champions Trophy and 2024 T20 World Cup.
He's now the second-oldest player to claim POTM in a T20 World Cup, behind Sanath Jayasuriya (39 years, 345 days in 2009 vs West Indies). Raza joins an elite group of five players aged 39+ with the award: Shoaib Malik, Tilakaratne Dilshan, and David Wiese.
With the victory over Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe have qualified for Super Eight unbeaten, thus being one of four teams to advance to this stage unblemished. Zimbabwe previously won their match against Australia and Oman, while their match against Ireland was washed out without toss.
