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February 13, 2026
February 13, 2026
February 13, 2026
Blessing Muzarabani claimed a career-best 4-17 as Zimbabwe held their nerve to stun Australia with a brilliant 23-run win in the T20 World Cup.
Set the challenging target of 170, Australia looked in trouble at 29-4 before Matthew Renshaw and Glenn Maxwell added a 77-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Australia required 34 runs off the final two overs, but when Renshaw was caught off Muzarabani for 65 with eight balls remaining, the game was effectively over.
The result leaves Group B delicately poised after two games each, with Australia two points behind Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, who face the Aussies on Monday.
“The culture, environment and unity we’ve created over a long time makes me extremely proud – and on top of that, to win is unbelievable,” said Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza.
“It looked like the boys wanted [to win] and they really deserve it. We don’t need to change anything, and it’s a great position, but it doesn’t guarantee anything. So the next game is now the most important one.”
Zimbabwe initially appeared cautious after being asked to bat first at the R. Premadasa Stadium. Opener Brian Bennett’s unbeaten 64 off 56 balls, featuring seven fours, anchored the innings at a strike rate of 114.28.
Tadiwanashe Marumani and Ryan Burl were more aggressive, scoring 35 off 21 balls and 30 off 30 balls respectively. Raza’s unbeaten 13-ball 25, including their only six off the final ball of the innings, provided late impetus.
The chase looked manageable for an Australian side that had made 182-6 in their opening win over Ireland. However, Muzarabani and Brad Evans (3-23) removed key wickets — Josh Inglis, Travis Head, Cameron Green, and Tim David — leaving Australia in serious trouble.
Renshaw and Maxwell rebuilt briefly, but when Maxwell was out for 31 after dragging on to Burl, pressure mounted. Muzarabani returned in the penultimate over to dismiss Renshaw and Zimbabwe quickly sealed the victory.
This was only the second T20 World Cup meeting between the two sides. At the inaugural tournament in 2007, Zimbabwe claimed a surprise win over an Australia side featuring Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, and Brett Lee at Newlands. Zimbabwe now lead their T20 World Cup head-to-head 2-0.
Unlike the courageous Cape Town side of 2007, Zimbabwe were composed and calculating in Colombo nearly 18 and a half years later. Bennett played the percentages, content to nullify Australia’s spinners and focus on accumulation rather than aggressive hitting to set a solid total.
Raza explained their cautious approach afterwards: “We discussed that we don’t want to go for 190. If we go for 190 now, we are 140 all out. We’ve seen in Sri Lanka you can lose wickets if you go too hard too early. We sent a message to Brian Bennett that he’s doing a great job, not to panic, and we’ll get to a good score if he stays through.”
Australia’s top order initially showed intent but fell to a mix of poor shot selection and disciplined bowling. Inglis and David were particularly guilty of giving their wickets away, but Muzarabani’s variations on a slow pitch, along with his 100th T20 international wicket, were decisive.
Zimbabwe’s fielding was also pivotal, with Clive Madande and Tony Munyonga producing eye-catching boundary stops.
The defeat leaves Australia with work to do in their remaining two games, though skipper Travis Head, leading in the absence of the injured Mitchell Marsh, remained confident.
“We’ve found ourselves in this position before and found ourselves on the right side of it,” Head said. “We have a few guys here who were there in India in 2023 [50-over World Cup], and we’ll look to navigate this situation and use that blueprint.” (BBC Sport)
