Sikandar Raza struck 87 off 40 balls as hosts Zimbabwe defeated Singapore by 111 runs on Monday to make a great start in their bid to qualify for the 2022 Twenty20 World Cup in Australia.
Put into bat after losing the toss, Zimbabwe posted 236-5 in 20 overs with Raza, Sean Williams (53) and captain Craig Ervine (34) the leading run makers at Queens Sports Club in southern city Bulawayo.
Singapore never looked like matching the run rate of the home team and managed just 125-7 with unbeaten Janak Prakash (32) top scoring and Surendran Chandramohan (21) the only other contributor of note.
Tendai Chatara (3-14) and Blessing Muzarabani (2-21) were the most successful bowlers for Zimbabwe, who are seeking a sixth T20 World Cup tournament appearance.
New Zimbabwe coach and former star batsman Dave Houghton had called for exciting, positive cricket from a team that last month suffered 3-0 series losses to visiting Afghanistan in both white-ball formats.
Batting at number five, Pakistan-born right-hander Raza heeded the rallying cry with a man-of-the-match performance that included five sixes and eight fours.
"This was a great start. The coach has emphasised the need to not only start the tournament well but finish it equally well. Our goal is to qualify for Australia," said Raza.
"We want the other seven teams to know that we are determined to secure one of the two qualifying places on offer and I think we did that really well.
"The win over Singapore is history now. The focus of my teammates and I has already shifted to the match against Jersey tomorrow."
