Zimbabwe repeats 2007 by defeating Australia

New Delhi: In the 19th league match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, Zimbabwe caused a big upset by defeating Australia by 23 runs in Colombo on 13 February. Australia’s stand-in captain Travis Head won the toss and decided to bowl first.

Zimbabwe’s impressive innings

Zimbabwe performed brilliantly while batting first and set the target of 169 runs losing only 2 wickets in 20 overs. Openers Tadivanashe Marumani and Brian Bennett made a partnership of 61 runs for the first wicket. Marumani gave a strong start to the team by scoring 35 runs in 21 balls. Ryan Burl contributed 35 runs in 30 balls.

Brian Bennett’s half century

Leading Zimbabwe’s innings, Brian Bennett, along with captain Sikandar Raza, played an unbeaten inning of 64 runs in 56 balls, which included 7 fours. Raza also scored fast and added 25 runs in 13 balls. In this way Zimbabwe set a challenging score.

Australia’s bad start

Australia made a very poor start while chasing the target. Four important wickets were lost on the score of just 29 runs. Josh Inglis scored 8 runs, captain Travis Head scored 17 runs, while Cameron Green and Tim David were out without opening the account.

Matt Renshaw’s struggle

After Australia’s early setbacks, Glenn Maxwell and Matt Renshaw put together a 77-run partnership. However, Maxwell was out after scoring 31 runs in 32 balls. Renshaw scored 65 runs in 44 balls, but he did not get the required support from the other end. The entire Australian team collapsed for 146 runs.

Zimbabwe’s great victory

With this match, Zimbabwe registered its second win in the tournament. Australia had defeated Ireland in their first match, yet Zimbabwe produced a dominant performance to win against this much bigger team, sending a clear message to the tournament.