Sikandar Raza scored an unbeaten 133 off 43 balls as Zimbabwe set a record innings score of 344-4 in the T20 World Cup Africa sub-regional qualifier against Gambia. Zimbabwe then defeated Gambia to secure their biggest win in this format on Wednesday.
Raza hit 15 sixes in Nairobi to score his first T20I century and lead Zimbabwe to a new record with a total of 20 overs, surpassing last year's previous record of 314 wins and 3 losses between Nepal and Mongolia.
Zimbabwe defeated Gambia for 54 in 14.4 overs and won by 290 runs, once again breaking the previous record of 273 runs between Nepal and Mongolia. Chevrons' 27 six runs in the innings is also a record and they lead Nepal by one run.
Raza celebrated his centenary with 33 deliveries and became the first Zimbabwean player to earn a significant amount of money from this format of international play.
Openers Brian Bennett (50) and Tadiwanashe Malumani (62) scored 98 off 34 balls for the first wicket before Raza and Clive Madande (53 not out) scored an unbeaten 40 for the fifth wicket. He scored 141 points.
None of the bowlers were saved, with seamer Moussa Jobarte conceding 93 in four overs, an undesirable T20 record. The previous worst figures were 0-82 from four overs when Derbyshire leg-break bowler Matthew McKiernan played against Somerset in 2022.
Zimbabwe will be hoping to progress to the next stage of African qualifiers for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka.
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Earlier on Wednesday, Canterbury opener Chad Bowes broke the record for the fastest double century in a men's List A match when he reached a double ton in 103 balls against New Zealand's Otago.
