Sikandar Raza livid with teammates' complacency after heartbreaking defeat to Afghanistan

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza was livid with his teammates after they lost a high-scoring thriller in the second T20I and conceded the series to Afghanistan in Sharjah. Raza felt some of his teammates became far too complacent after reducing Afghanistan to 5 for 4 in four overs.

"Before I go into too much detail about the match, which I will address in the changing room, the toughest part to swallow was the complacency I saw from some of the boys," said Raza, who was visibly frustrated despite ending up on the losing side after scoring an unbeaten 106 off 56 balls.

"At 5 for 4, some of the boys were probably calculating that Afghanistan would finish on 130 or 140 at most after 20 overs. Some of the things I saw on the field today genuinely hurt me, and I'll address them in the changing room. Listen, it can happen, but that's when you have to be mentally strong and say, 'No, the game is never over until it's over. We still have a job to do, and I'm going to be the one to get it done.'

"Before I dissect the game from a batting or bowling perspective, that's something I felt out there in the middle today, and it needs to be addressed. We cannot take this game for granted because it can come back to bite you, and today was a perfect example of that."

Afghanistan turned the game around through Azmatullah Omarzai, who struck his maiden T20I century, smashing 116 off 50 balls with five fours and 12 sixes. Allrounder Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai also played a crucial hand, scoring 52 off 27 balls at a strike rate of 192.59.

A late blitz from Rashid Khan, who remained unbeaten on 25 off just six deliveries, propelled Afghanistan to 221 for 7, a total far beyond what the visitors would have envisaged after their blistering start with the ball.

In reply, Raza waged a lone battle, hammering a counterattacking ton, but it was not enough to take Zimbabwe over the line.

"When you're chasing 222, the biggest thing for me was trying to stay in control of my emotions because the way we conducted ourselves in the first innings hurt me," Raza said. "When we went out to bat, my focus was on trying to win the game from any position. That has always been our motto. In my head, I was calculating the best way to go about my innings and hoping the other batters would chip in so that we could get over the line.

"Until the final two overs, when we needed 46 from 12 balls, we still backed ourselves to win the game. But yes, I think we left ourselves with too much to do."