Harare, July 20 (IANS): Zimbabwe T20 captain Sikander Raza has said it was time they started making a habit of winning because they are tired of competing and losing to better teams.
Defending 146 runs in a tight encounter, Zimbabwe on Sunday defeated India by 10 runs to square their two-match T20 series 1-1.
"We were sick and tired of just competing against the better nations and losing in the end. Today was one of the days when we said, ‘This has to come to an end. It’s time we start winning’," Raza was quoted as saying by bcci.tv on Monday.
Raza, however, played down his part as captain and instead credited his team for the inspired performance.
"There is nothing much to say to your bowlers or fielders. You discuss the plans and try to give as much confidence to your players as you can. That’s exactly what I did. One man cannot do anything. It took 11 players to win that match," he insisted.
"It must have looked like I was leading the way but I can tell you that I didn't. It was my team; the 10 other blokes on the park that did it for me. Everyone wanted to win. When there is so much energy and positive attitude around you, it is difficult not to fall in that place yourself."
Zimbabwe lost their three-match One-Day International (ODI) series to India 0-3. Raza said the team made a conscious effort to not repeat the same mistakes again.
"It has been our history that we start a series really well and then our performances go down," he admitted.
"It happened in this series as well. We all got together and said, ‘This cannot happen again. We can’t keep repeating our mistakes over and over again’.
"We can also not hide behind the excuse that we don’t have enough cricket because now we have 40-odd games of cricket coming up. We have to start winning, one match at a time."
Raza said the win was the impetus the team needed to mature and move forward.
"As a team we have to win forward now. This could well be the spark that we needed. Now that we have tasted a win, I am sure the boys will remember this feeling and they would want to make sure that they get this feeling again and again. That would help us as a team to grow and also Zimbabwe to climb up the rungs in international cricket."