Zimbabwe stun Australia in T20 World Cup 2026 Group B clash

Colombo: Making history in the T20 World Cup 2026, the Zimbabwe team defeated Australia. Batting first, Zimbabwe scored 169 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. In response, Australia managed only 146 runs and lost the match by 23 runs. This is Zimbabwe's second consecutive win in the tournament, while Australia suffered its first defeat.

Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans' brilliance

Defending 170 runs, Zimbabwe attacked Australia from the second over itself. Blessing Muzarabani dismissed Josh Inglis on the first ball of the second over after he had scored 8 runs. Cameron Green and Tim David failed to open their account after that. Australia continued to lose wickets, and at one point, they were reduced to 29 for 4. From there, Glenn Maxwell (31) forged a 50-plus partnership with Matthew Renshaw, but it wasn't enough. Renshaw was eventually dismissed for 65, leaving Zimbabwe just a short distance away from victory. Blessing Muzarabani took 4 wickets and Brad Evans took 5 wickets for Zimbabwe.

Brian Bennett played a good innings

Earlier, Brian Bennett's unbeaten 64 helped Zimbabwe post a challenging 169 for 2 against Australia in the T20 World Cup match here on Friday. Bennett laid the foundation for a big score for Zimbabwe by hitting seven fours in 56 balls. Zimbabwe had reached 125 for one in 15 overs, but Australia made a comeback in the final overs, conceding only 44 runs in the last five overs.

These batsmen also performed well.

Wicketkeepers Tadiwanashe Marumani (35) and Ryan Burl (35) also made useful contributions, while captain Sikandar Raza remained unbeaten on 25 off 13 balls. Zimbabwe had wickets in hand and could have played risky shots, but they chose not to do so. They hit only one six in their entire innings. In the absence of players like Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, Australia's fast bowling attack lacked sharpness early on, and Zimbabwe's batsmen took advantage of this.

Zampa was denied a wicket.

Zimbabwe's batsmen also handled Adam Zampa well. Zampa conceded 31 runs in his four overs and went wicketless. Invited to bat first, Zimbabwe's innings was highlighted by a 61-run opening partnership in 7.3 overs between Marumani and Bennett.

After a slow start, Marumani hit two fours off Ben Dwarshius in the third over and three fours off Glenn Maxwell in the fourth. Bennett hit two fours in Matthew Kuhnemann's fifth over, helping Zimbabwe reach 47 for no loss in the powerplay. Australia found success in the eighth over when Marcus Stoinis dismissed Marumani. Stoinis was injured attempting to take a catch off Burl in the 16th over and had to leave the field.

Cameron Green completed the 16th over and proved fortunate, as Burl was dismissed off the last ball.