Rohit Kumar
NEW DELHI, Feb 17: Rain had the final say in knocking the bigwig Australia out of the on-going T20 World Cup. The 2021 champions crashed out of the 20-team tournament at the group stage after the match between Zimbabwe and Ireland was abandoned without a ball being bowled at the Pallekele International Stadium in Sri Lanka on Tuesday due to rain.
The Ireland vs Zimbabwe Group B match was called off without the toss being held. With the game being washed out, Australia are now out of contention to advance to the Super 8, while Zimbabwe have become the second team from Group B to qualify. Sri Lanka have already qualified for the Super 8 from Group B with a game to spare (3 matches, 6 points, NRR +2.462).
Ireland needs to beat Zimbabwe for Australia to have any chance of reaching the Super 8s. A win for Sikandar Raza’s side – or a washout as it turned out to be – was enough to seal Australia’s elimination. This is only the second time in the tournament’s history that Australia have been eliminated in the group stage. In 2009, they lost to the West Indies and Sri Lanka, crashing out of the competition.
Australia’s T20 World Cup campaign this time was derailed even before it began, with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood ruled out due to injuries. Ahead of the opener against Ireland, captain Marsh suffered an injury scare and went on to miss the first two matches.
When Travis Head stepped in as captain in Marsh’s absence, Australia began the campaign on a positive note with a win over Ireland. However, the biggest setback followed in the next match, as they suffered a 23-run defeat to Zimbabwe, led by Raza. The loss left them with no margin for error against Sri Lanka – and they again failed in Candy on Monday evening.
Marsh returned for the clash against Sri Lanka and stitched together a formidable opening stand with Travis Head, adding more than 100 runs in under nine overs. However, when it seemed the team score might reach to almost unassailable high, the innings lost momentum once both the openers were dismissed, as Australia slipped from 104/0 to 181 all out in 20 overs. Pathum Nissanka then produced a master class, striking an unbeaten century to guide Sri Lanka home with eight wickets in hand and 12 balls to spare.
The victory sent Sri Lanka cruising into the Super 8s, while Australia’s fate hinged on Zimbabwe’s result. Only an Ireland win would have kept them alive in the tournament. Even then, Australia would have needed a big victory over Oman and a Sri Lanka win against Zimbabwe to progress. However, the washout in the Zimbabwe–Ireland match rendered all such permutations irrelevant.
The ICC had already announced pre-determined seedings for the Super 8s, and had Australia qualified, they would have joined India, South Africa and the West Indies. With their elimination, Zimbabwe have taken that spot, and will now face India at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday, February 26.
By reaching the Super 8s, Zimbabwe also secured automatic qualification for the next edition of the T20 World Cup, to be held in 2028 in Australia and New Zealand. It marks a remarkable turnaround for a side that lost to Uganda and failed to qualify for the 2024 edition.
Zimbabwe are currently second with five points from three matches (NRR +1.984) and have one more fixture remaining. Ireland (3 matches, 3 points, NRR +0.150) and Australia (3 matches, 2 points, NRR +0.414) are third and fourth, respectively. Oman are fifth with no wins in three matches. Australia can reach a maximum of four points even if they win their last game.
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