Chattogram [Bangladesh], May 7 : Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza acknowledged the sub-par performance of the top-order batters after they failed to keep the series alive against Bangladesh on Tuesday at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.
Zimbabwe put up a fight right till the end but failed to get across the finish line. Bangladesh walked out of the stadium with an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series with a nine-run win in the third T20I.
Just like the previous two matches, Zimbabwe's top-five batters failed to put runs on the board. For the first time in the series, the visitors came out to chase but found themselves in a precarious situation after being reduced to 66/5.
The top five batters combined to put 53 runs on the board with Tadiwanashe Marumani contributing the most with his knock of 31 off 26 deliveries. It was the lower order that raised hopes of an unprecedented victory with their influential knocks during their chase of 166.
Raza opened up about their shortcomings in the batting order. "We did fight well, but the fact is that the top-5 including myself haven't done well, we needed to support Marumani and we could have chased it down. A lot of runs have come from the lower order, they've been working hard, but the results need to come."
For Zimbabwe, three youngsters stood out with their performances throughout the game. Johnathan Campbell (21) and Marumani (31) contributed with the bat, while, Faraz Akram produced an all-rounded performance with his spell of 1-44 with the ball and 34* off 19 deliveries with the bat.
Raza hailed the performance of the trio and added, "We have several youngsters whom we're grooming, it's not easy for them to come to Bangladesh and do well. Mistakes have happened, but I'm okay with them. Those three youngsters put up their hands (on Akram, Campbell and Marumani), and they brought us close and I thought we might win at one point in time. There've been a lot of positives and I'm really happy for them, but it's the top order which needs to deliver for us."
After missing out on the series, Zimbabwe will face Bangladesh in the fourth T20I on Friday at the Sher-E-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.