CWC Qualifiers, Zimbabwe beat Oman in Super Six: Key stats
What's the story
Zimbabwe beat Oman in the first encounter of the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Super Six stage at the Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. The hosts successfully defended 332/7 even though Oman were 217/3 at one stage. Earlier, Sean Williams played a 142-run knock, which laid the foundation for Zimbabwe's victory. Oman pacer Fayyaz Butt took a four-wicket haul, while Kashyap Prajapati smacked a ton.
Match
How did the match pan out?
Oman won the toss and elected to field. After adding 46 runs, Zimbabwe lost both openers Gumbie and Craig Ervine. Williams rebuilt the innings alongside Wessly Madhevere. The former took Zimbabwe past 200 with Sikandar Raza. Luke Jongwe's 43*(28) propelled Zimbabwe to 332/7. Kashyap Prajapati slammed a match-changing ton for Oman. Aqib Ilyas and Aayan Khan too contributed, but Oman fell short (318/9).
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Another match, another Williams masterclass!
Williams played yet another aggressive knock. He touched the three-figure mark off just 81 balls. The Zimbabwe batter slammed 142 off 103 balls, a knock laced with 14 fours and 3 sixes.
Century
The third century of the tournament
This was Williams's third century of the tournament and second in successive games. He scored a record-breaking 174 in his preceding outing against the USA. 23, 91, and 102* read his other scores. Williams has now raced to 532 runs in the event at a jaw-dropping average of 133.00. No other batter has even touched the 300-run mark so far.
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Highest strike rate in the tournament
It must be noted that Williams's strike rate of 133.00 in the tournament is the highest among batters with at least 60 runs in the competition. Meanwhile, Nicholas Pooran (2) of West Indies is the only other batter with multiple tons in the competition.
Fayyaz
Oman's Fayyaz takes a four-fer
Fayyaz was the pick of Oman's bowlers in the match. He took four wickets for 79 runs. Fayyaz dismissed Zimbabwe opener Joylord Gumbie in the 13th over to put Oman on top. The Oman pacer then broke the crucial partnership between Sikandar Raza and Williams by dismissing the former. Soon after, Fayyaz got rid of Ryan Burl (43rd over).
Figures
Fayyaz records his career-best figures
Fayyaz registered his best bowling figures in ODI cricket (4/79). This was his first four-wicket haul in the format. Before this match, Fayyaz's best figures were 3/28 (against UAE in March 2022). Fayyaz has now raced to 27 wickets from 22 ODIs at an average of 33.74. He has an economy rate of 5.74 in the 50-over format.
Century
Prajapati slams 103 for Oman
Despite losing Jatinder Singh early, Prajapati and Ilyas kept Oman afloat. The duo took Oman past 100 before Ilyas departed. Prajapati helped Oman cross the 150-run mark and reached his century in the 34th over. He ended up with a 103-run knock from 97 balls. His knock was laced with 12 fours and a six. He now has 893 runs in ODIs (2 tons).
Raza
Raza becomes the fastest Zimbabwe batter to 4,000 ODI runs
Veteran all-rounder Raza has unlocked yet another milestone as he has become the fastest Zimbabwe batter to complete 4,000 runs in ODIs. Extending his purple patch, Raza played a brisk knock in the contest, scoring 42 off 49 balls (6 fours). Raza reached the 4,000-run mark in 127 innings. He went past Zimbabwe legend Grant Flower, who took 128 innings to get the mark.
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3-fers for Blessing Muzarabani and Tendai Chatara
Blessing Muzarabani and Tendai Chatara claimed three scalps each. Blessing was blessed with 3/57 from nine overs. He now has 54 ODI scalps. Meanwhile, Chatara raced to 110 scalps after managing 3/72 from eight overs.