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Days after younger brother’s death, Sikandar Raza bowls through personal grief to spin a story of resurgence at SA20
Putting personal grief aside, Sikandar Raza delivered a stirring performance against defending champions MI Cape Town, returning figures of 3 for 27.
A team that was all but obliterated in the SA20, South Africa's premier franchise-based T20 tournament, in a humiliating 49 all out in their opening match, has staged a remarkable turnaround. It’s won three matches in a row, which has now propelled it to the second position in the fourth edition of the SA20-South Africa's IPL twin. Their secret sauce? A strong spin game, and orchestrating it is all-rounder Sikandar Raza, for whom the turnaround strikes a personal note as well, seeing as he is back in the field close on the heels of a devastating personal loss.
Paarl Royals has edged up remarkably after 13 matches in the ongoing tournament. The revival has been built on a familiar blueprint, one that powered the Royals to a Qualifier 2 finish last season. No team leaned more heavily on spin in the previous edition of the SA20 than the Royals. They bowled 140.5 overs of spin, the most in the competition, while also being the most economical, conceding just 6.63 runs per over and picking up 36 wickets. That philosophy has remained unchanged this season.
Across their first four matches, the Royals have already turned to spin on 43 occasions, claiming 10 wickets at well under seven runs per over. At the heart of this strategy stands Raza, whose influence has been immediate and decisive. The Zimbabwean all-rounder has snapped up seven wickets in just two games, once again anchoring a spin-heavy approach that continues to define Paarl Royals’ identity in the SA20.
On Friday at Boland Park in Paarl, Raza became the first Zimbabwean cricketer to feature in the SA20. The moment came just four days after the passing of his brother, Muhammad Mahdi, 13, to health-related complications. Putting personal grief aside, Raza delivered a stirring performance against defending champions MI Cape Town, returning figures of 3 for 27 and contributing with a crucial catch.
Two days later, in the return fixture in Cape Town, Raza took the gaze away from the picturesque Table Mountain, which overlooked the stadium in all its glory, with his crafty bowling as he picked up 4 for 13 - the joint-best bowling figures in the ongoing season. His spell played a decisive role in MI Cape Town being bowled out for just 88 runs, the lowest ever by a team batting first in SA20's history.
In both matches, Paarl Royals deployed 12 overs of spin, with Bjorn Fortuin once again entrusted with the new ball, a role he excelled in last season, emerging as a revelation with 14 powerplay wickets at an economy of just 6.45. On the two-paced Newlands surface on Sunday, Fortuin was even handed the opening over of the innings.
While he proved expensive in his second over of the powerplay on both occasions, Raza stepped in to quell the early threat posed by MI Cape Town’s openers on Sunday. He struck by dismissing Rassie van der Dussen with a delivery that extracted extra bounce from the surface.
With the pitch offering sufficient turn, Royals captain David Miller introduced Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and the spin trio tightened the screws. MI Cape Town managed just 18 runs in four overs against the variety, before Raza removed Jason Smith, South Africa’s T20 World Cup-bound batter.
The 39-year-old wasn’t done yet. He struck twice more in his final over, finding himself on a hat-trick for the second time in as many SA20 matches. The spinners finished with combined figures of 5 for 63, with Mujeeb accounting for the remaining two wickets, as Paarl Royals dealt a significant blow to MI Cape Town’s title defence.
Why variation has become Raza’s secret sauce in T20s
Whether it was the side-arm action, reminiscent of Kedar Jadhav’s surprise bowling stance during the 2019 World Cup, last week, or the use of quicker deliveries on Sunday on the tricky Newlands surface, Raza’s success in T20 cricket has been built on one constant: variation. Having multiple options at his disposal, and, crucially, knowing when conditions dictate their use, has become central to his effectiveness.
“You also look at the surface. If the pitch is too slow, bowling too slowly can actually make things easier for the batter. So I try to have all the paces at my disposal because sometimes the wicket dictates what pace you need to bowl,” speaking during a media interaction, Raza told Hindustan Times when asked whether increasing his bowling pace was something he had been consciously working on during the SA20.
Raza has also evolved into a far more potent option with the new ball over the past few seasons across T20 competitions. Until 2022, he managed just five wickets in 41 powerplay overs. In the last three years, in a similar number of overs, the right-arm off-spinner has picked up 13 wickets, including a crucial breakthrough against MI Cape Town at Newlands.
The all-rounder attributes that improvement to the hours spent refining his skills in the nets, work that, he says, gives him the confidence to put his hand up when the team needs him.
He explained: “In T20 cricket, every over is important. For me, it’s always about whether I’ve bowled with the new ball in training and whether I’ve achieved what I wanted to there. If I have, then I carry that confidence into the game. In the last match, I didn’t bowl in the powerplay, but this time I had to bowl an over there. If I’ve worked hard in the nets, when the captain asks, I can honestly say, ‘Yes, I’ve practised that—you can back me.’”
For captain Miller, it hasn’t just been his enthusiasm or on-field involvement that has driven Paarl Royals to a double over MI Cape Town. Raza has emerged as the “perfect” all-round package. Beyond adding another dimension to the batting order with his flexibility, that is yet to fully come to the fore this season, Raza’s vast experience, gained from featuring in more than 20 overseas leagues, and his leadership qualities have proved invaluable, to Paarl Royals.
"He’s been amazing. I’ve followed his career and love the way he plays the game—always wanting to be involved, whether with the ball or in the field. He can bat anywhere from one to six, which fits perfectly with us, and he’s always putting his hand up. At 39, he’s still running around with incredible enthusiasm and bringing the right energy to the group, especially among the youngsters. He has a very good cricket brain, so that experience has been invaluable. He’s been a huge part of what we’ve done in the last few game," Miller said in the post-match press conference.
Eyes on the T20 World Cup
For Raza, however, the SA20, like the ILT20 that preceded it, serves primarily as a platform for him and his Zimbabwe teammates to gear up for the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, which begins on February 7. While Raza is the only Zimbabwean featuring in the South African league this season, three of his compatriots turned out in the ILT20 in Dubai.
“It certainly helps. The more cricket we play before the World Cup, the more match fitness and rhythm we find. So it was nice to have three Zimbabweans in the ILT20. Unfortunately, Blessing (Muzarabani) was supposed to be there as well, but he got injured and was going through rehab. He’s fit now. The more Zimbabweans that get to play at this level, the better it is for the country—and going into the World Cup, it will be very useful,” Raza said.
Zimbabwe, placed in Group B alongside Australia, Sri Lanka, Ireland and Oman, will arrive in Sri Lanka a week early to acclimatise to local conditions ahead of the ICC tournament. They open their campaign against Oman in Colombo on February 9.
