Heartbroken Raza bleeds on Twitter, showered with ...

Heartbroken Raza bleeds on Twitter, showered with love

Smarting from Zimbabwe’s 3-0 ignominious loss to India in the third ODI at HSC on Monday, Sikandar Raza put his heart out on Twitter.

“So close yet so far! It really hurts when you get this close and not cross the line,” the star lamented.

But the fans would not let him weep. Thousands of likes, over 400 retweets and more than 200 messages confirmed that Raza has captured the hearts of the nation and beyond.

“One of the greatest knocks in losing cause under pressure. I have been following you since that Bangladesh series and have to say love watching you play this great game with such dedication and maturity for your country. You may have lost the match but you won hearts,” said @SRazaB24

A number of fans insisted that there was every reason to celebrate Raza’s brilliant show and they would not allow the defeat to steal any of his thunder.

“Sikandar you're God's own gift to our nation. You gave us reason to be happy. We hope the other guys manage to support you whenever you are in form so that we produce good result as a team,” responded @tatendacasper.

And there were messages to confirm that Raza will have full support of the fans in upcoming challenges.

“Head and chin up. You were superb. You all did well restricting them to under 300. You showed great potential. You are a diamond. You will always shine even if covered in dirt or in the rough. Australia an even bigger stage to show what you are all made of go show to show what you are all made of. Go chevs🇿🇼,” said @Firefly2614.

The Pakistan-born Zimbabwe international has become the toast of the cricket world for his shining performance against India.

Though trailing behind the visitors with all signs of yet another defeat visibly inscribed on the wall, Raza(36) gave the expectant pool of local supporters all reason to expect a comeback, managing 115 off 95 balls.

The right-handed batsman’s combination with Brad Evans was all reason for the enthusiastic Zimbabwean crowd to hope for a change of fortunes, but the cricket gods just would not smile on the Chevrons.

It was India’s Shubman Gill who set up his side into the lead with 130 off 97 balls to hoist his team to 289 for eight.

And though Zimbabwe lost wickets on the trot, Raza, like rain out of thunder, was up to the task, completing his third hundred in the final six innings.

Gill (130) struck a stroke-filled century to power India to 289/8. In reply, Zimbabwe’s innings ended at 276 in 49.3 overs thanks to Raza’s brilliant 95-ball 115.

"I was just trying to minimise my dot ball percentage, so I tried to hit the gaps as much as possible.

“As I went in, there were a couple of bowlers bowling good. It was crucial to get through that. Once we were settled, we knew we could attack.

“The bat was pretty good. That's why I changed it after my 50, I wanted to save it,” Gill told journalists after the match.

Zimbabwe XI: Takudzwanashe Kaitano, Innocent Kaia, Tony Munyonga, Regis Chakabva(w/c), Sikandar Raza, Sean Williams, Ryan Burl, Luke Jongwe, Brad Evans, Victor Nyauchi, Richard Ngarava

India XI: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul(c), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson(w), Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan