Sikandar Raza Breaks New Record, Becomes Oldest Player To Score A T20I Century

Sikandar Raza raising his bat (Source: AFP Photos)

Age is just a number for Sikandar Raza, the No. 1 all-rounder in T20Is as per ICC rankings. He kept up the magic on Thursday when Zimbabwe and Afghanistan met at Sharjah Cricket Stadium for the second T20I of the three-match series.

Raza was 40 years and 188 days old when he was in action against Afghanistan on Thursday. With the help of nine sixes and five fours, the Zimbabwe captain remained not out on 106 off 56 balls.

Unfortunately for him, he couldn't take his side past the finish line after coming to chase 222. Zimbabwe, riding on Raza’s heroics, ended their innings on 202/5.

Sikandar Raza Becomes First Player To Hit A T20I Century After Turning 40

Among all the cricketing nations, including full members and associates, there was not a single player who had a century in the T20I format after turning 40. Sikandar Raza, on Thursday, became the first player to achieve the feat.

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He broke the record for the oldest player to score a T20I century, previously held by Gibraltar’s Avinash Pai, who played an outstanding knock against Bulgaria in 2021. At the time, he was 39 years and 272 days old.

Oldest Player To Score A T20I Century

• Sikandar Raza - 40y 188d
• Avinash Pai - 39y 272d 
• Brendan Taylor - 39y 234d
• Moises Henriques - 39y 200d 
• Faheem Nazir - 39y 11d

Sikandar Raza Reaches New Heights

Raza holds the record for the fastest T20I century by a Zimbabwean in terms of balls. His latest knock is now the joint third-fastest in the same list.

Fastest 100s For Zimbabwe In T20Is (By Balls)

• 33 - Sikandar Raza vs Gambia, Nairobi (Ruaraka), 2024
• 46 - Brendan Taylor vs Botswana, Harare, 2025
• 54 - Brian Bennett vs Tanzania, Harare, 2025
• 54 - Sikandar Raza vs Afghanistan, Sharjah, 2026, Tonight*

There were only four captains before Raza who had two or more T20I centuries as captain. They were Rohit Sharma, Babar Azam, Shai Hope and Harry Brook.

Multiple 100s As A Captain In T20Is (Full Member Nations)

• 3 - Babar Azam (Pakistan)
• 3 - Shai Hope (West Indies)
• 3 - Rohit Sharma (India)
• 2 - Harry Brook (England)
• 2 - Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe)*

This was also the first time that a Zimbabwean player scored a T20I century, and the side ended up on the losing side.

Highest Individual Score For Zimbabwe In Losing Causes In T20Is

• 106* - Sikandar Raza vs Afghanistan, Sharjah, 2026, Tonight*
•  97* - Brian Bennett vs India, Chennai, 2026
• 94 - Solomon Mire vs Pakistan, Harare, 2018

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