‘Some of the things hurt me’: Zimbabwe captain slams players’ ‘complacency’ after series loss as Afghanistan go from 5 for 4 to score 221 | Cricket News

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza was left disappointed with what he called “complacency” among some of his teammates after his side suffered a 19-run defeat to Afghanistan in the second T20I in Sharjah on Thursday. The loss also handed Afghanistan an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.Raza said his biggest concern was the attitude of some players after Zimbabwe had reduced Afghanistan to 5 for 4 in the fourth over. He felt the team had taken the opposition lightly at that stage, assuming Afghanistan would struggle to post a big total.“For me, before I go too much in detail [about the match] – and I will address that in the changing room – the toughest part to swallow was the complacency that I saw from some of the boys,” Raza said after the match.The Zimbabwe captain was particularly unhappy that some players appeared to believe Afghanistan would manage only 130 or 140 runs after losing four wickets early. He said the team needed to stay focused and remember that a match is not over until the final ball.“[At 5 for 4] some of the boys were probably calculating that it will be – 130, 140 max – at the end of 20 overs. Some of the things that I saw on the ground today certainly hurt me and I’ll address that in the changing room because, listen, it can happen but I think that’s where you have to be mentally very strong and say, ‘no, the game is never over until it’s over – we still have a job in hand and I’m going to be the guy who’s going to get the job done’.“Before I dissect the game with batting or bowling, I think that’s something that I felt today out there in the middle and that’s something that needs to be addressed, not to take this game for granted because it can bite back and today is a great example.”Zimbabwe had also kept Afghanistan to 45 for 5 at the halfway stage of the innings. However, Azmatullah Omarzai‘s 116 off 50 balls and Ijaz Ahmad Ahmadzai’s 52 off 27 deliveries helped Afghanistan recover and post 221 for 7.Raza then led Zimbabwe’s fightback with an unbeaten 106 off 56 balls, but his effort was not enough to prevent defeat. He said he had tried to keep his emotions under control while batting after being unhappy with the team’s approach in the first innings.“When you’re chasing 222, for me the biggest thing was to try and stay in control of my emotions because the way we conducted ourselves in the first innings hurt me,” Raza said. “So when we go out to bat, for me it was trying to win the game from any position. That has been our motto and in my head, I was just calculating how best can I go about my business and hopefully the other batters chip in so that we can win the game.“Up until the last two overs [by when they needed 46 from 12], we were backing ourselves to win the game but yeah, I think we left ourselves too much.”Raza also said he would address the issue with his teammates in the dressing room, making it clear that his message would be stronger than what he had said publicly.