Chakabva lauds Raza's brilliant ton against India in 3rd ODI

HARARE: Following his side's narrow 13-run loss to India, Zimbabwe skipper Regis Chakabva praised all-rounder Sikander Raza for his brilliant century that almost took the hosts to the victory. KL Rahul-led India outplayed Zimbabwe in all three departments of the game to register a 13-run victory at the Harare Sports Club here and clinched the three-match ODI series 3-0 on Monday.

"Firstly congratulations to India. They played really well. Raza and Brad gave a good fight, but India held their nerves. Huge positives from the bowling. The boys fought hard in the field. We came back strongly from a tough situation.

Raza was outstanding once again. We definitely take a lot of positives from today, we will look to play some good cricket Down Under (in Australia)," said Chakabva in a post-match presentation. With this victory, India captured the three-match series 3-0.

Earlier batting first, India scored 289/8 in their 50 overs. An opening 63-run stand between KL Rahul (30) and Shikhar Dhawan (40) laid the foundation for a good score for the Men in Blue. After the departure of Dhawan, India was at 2/84. From that point on, Ishan Kishan and Gill started their assault on the bowlers and stitched a 140-run stand. After their partnership was broken, Zimbabwe made a small comeback, taking the next five wickets within a space of just 65 runs.

Brad Evans finished as the leading bowler for Zimbabwe with an excellent 5/54. Chasing 290, Zimbabwe was at 169/7. Sean Williams had played a great 45-run knock but every other batter struggled. But then, all-rounder Sikander Raza scored a superb 115 runs off 95 balls and put on a 104-run stand with Brad Evans that almost took Zimbabwe across the finishing line.

However, Avesh Khan (3/66) and Shardul Thakur (1/55) struck just in time to bundle out the hosts for 276. Deepak Chahar (2/75), Kuldeep Yadav (2/38) and Axar Patel (2/30) also delivered good contributions with the ball for India. Gill was named as the 'Man of the Match' for his brilliant 130.