New Delhi . Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza has added another golden chapter in T20 World Cricket. In the important match of T20 World Cup 2026 against Sri Lanka, Raza not only led his team to a memorable victory, but also broke a world record which was till now held in the name of Indian captain Rohit Sharma. Raza has now become the oldest captain to win Player of the Match (POTM) in an ICC tournament.
Chasing the challenging target of 179 runs given by Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe registered a spectacular victory by six wickets by scoring 182 runs for the loss of four wickets in 19.3 overs. Captain Sikandar Raza was the hero of this victory, who played an explosive and unbeaten inning of 45 runs in just 26 balls. In this innings, he hit 2 fours and 4 skyscraper sixes and scored runs at a strike rate of 173.08. He was adjudged Player of the Match for this responsible and aggressive innings played in times of pressure.
With this award, Raza created history at the age of 39 years 301 days. Earlier this record was in the name of Rohit Sharma, who won the Player of the Match award in the Champions Trophy 2025 final against New Zealand at the age of 37 years 331 days. Rohit had also achieved this feat against Australia at the age of 37 years and 55 days. But now this position has gone to the captain of Zimbabwe.
Talking about the match, Zimbabwe had a very strong start. In the powerplay, the team added 55 runs without losing any wicket. Opener Brian Bennett played a brilliant half-century of 63 runs in 48 balls, while Taddi Marumani laid a strong foundation by scoring 34 runs in 26 balls. Both of them made a partnership of 69 runs for the first wicket. After this, Ryan Burl also made a useful contribution of 23 runs in 12 balls.
Although some wickets fell in the middle, Sikandar Raza and Bennett handled the innings and took the team closer to the target. Raza changed the course of the match by hitting two consecutive sixes off Dilshan Madushanka in the 15th over. In the next over, he put complete pressure on Sri Lanka by hitting a six and a four on Mahish Teekshana. When eight runs were needed in the last over, Tony Munyonga sealed the victory by hitting a six.
With this win, Zimbabwe remained undefeated in Group B and reached the Super Eight. Earlier, the team had also caused a big upset by defeating Australia. This performance of Zimbabwe is adding new energy and excitement to the tournament. Sikandar Raza’s captaincy and experience proved that age is just a number, passion and performance are what create the real identity.
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