Zimbabwe shock Australia in T20 World Cup thriller

Nearly 19 years after their famous triumph in Cape Town at the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007, Zimbabwe delivered another stunning blow to Australia, registering a memorable 23-run victory in their Group B encounter at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Friday.

The result marked one of the biggest surprises of the ongoing tournament and followed another upset earlier in the week when Italy crushed Nepal by 10 wickets in Mumbai.

Defending a competitive total, Zimbabwe’s pace duo set the tone early. Blessing Muzarabani was outstanding with a four-wicket haul, while Brad Evans claimed three crucial scalps to derail Australia’s chase. The Aussies were bowled out for 146 with just three deliveries remaining.

Australia’s innings unravelled quickly under relentless new-ball pressure. Josh Inglis perished in the deep, Cameron Green and Tim David departed without scoring, and Travis Head played on as Australia crashed to 29 for four.

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Glenn Maxwell and Matt Renshaw attempted a rescue act with a 77-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Maxwell’s counterattack briefly revived memories of his heroic double century against Afghanistan in the 2023 ODI World Cup that had once rescued Australia from a similar crisis. However, Zimbabwe regained control when Ryan Burl struck twice in one over, dismissing Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis in quick succession.

Renshaw tried to anchor the innings in a lone battle, but Evans and Muzarabani returned to seal the contest and script a famous win.

Earlier, Zimbabwe laid the foundation with a composed batting effort. Opener Brian Bennett anchored the innings with an unbeaten 64, laced with seven boundaries, relying on crisp timing rather than brute force. He shared a solid opening stand with Tadiwanashe Marumani (35) before combining with Ryan Burl for a 70-run partnership as Zimbabwe posted 169 for two.

The victory was Zimbabwe’s second-ever T20I win over Australia in four meetings, the first coming in Cape Town in 2007. It also marked their second triumph of the current tournament, having earlier defeated Oman in their opening match.