Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza made a stunning remark following a resounding 35-run win against West Indies in the ODI World Cup Qualifiers in Harare on Saturday. Notably, Raza was adjudged Player of the Match for his breezy 58-ball 68 with the bat and also added two wickets to his account in their win.

Following the impressive win, Raza opened up on the discussions with his teammates as he urged them to fight hard and push through with courage. He further claimed that if his side maintained courage and consistency in their performances, they could be the best side in the world.

“All I asked from the boys was fight and courage out there. As long as we are doing that, the skills will look after themselves — we are not far away from the best in the world. Our bowling has been amazing,” Raza said in a post-match presentation.

The all-rounder highlighted that Zimbabwe were a couple of runs short, however, the hunger maintained by the side to cement a place in the ODI World Cup in India helped them clinch the win.“I personally thought we were 20-30 runs short. But the hunger we have, to win this game and to get to India — that took care of the runs we were short of. We always believed our bowlers. We never doubted them and no better place to stand up. They are the ones who really won us that match,” Raza added.

Speaking about the match, Raza’s 68, coupled with an invaluable knock by Ryan Burl (50 off 57 balls) and skipper Craig Ervine (47 off 58 balls), helped the hosts attain 268 runs in the first innings. During the run-chase, Kyle Mayers and Roston Chase scored vital knocks of 56 and 44 runs, respectively.

However, a comprehensive bowling performance helped Zimbabwe sink the Windies in the contest by 35 runs. Tendai Chatara racked up a three-wicket haul, whereas Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, and Raza got two wickets each to wrap up the contest.

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