This ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 gave so many teasers. Lesser-known teams threatened to outclass serious opponents time and time again. Ask the likes of the Netherlands, the USA and Nepal, who could’ve easily beaten Pakistan, India and England, respectively. But not even one week is behind us and we finally have a stunning result as Zimbabwe thrash 2021 champions Australia by a healthy margin of 23 runs in Colombo.
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2007 or 2026 AUS vs ZIM result remains the same
History, it seems, has a funny way of repeating itself. Back in 2007 in Cape Town, Zimbabwe stunned Australia in the inaugural T20 World Cup. Nineteen years later, different venue, different generation, same outcome. Zimbabwe remain the only team with a 100 percent win record against Australia in Men’s T20 World Cups.
Going into this encounter, teams batting first won just 4 and lost as many as 10 at Premadasa Stadium since 2021. At the toss, it was Travis Head who had the correct call and unsurprisingly asked Zimbabwe to set a total. What Zimbabwe did with the bat is something tactful. They dig in, build the innings well without taking major risks and reach a par score, a strategy that we usually associate with Afghanistan.
They didn’t go berserk, but they built properly. Tadiwanashe Marumani set the tone with a brisk 35, Brian Bennett anchored the innings with a composed 64 not out, and Sikandar Raza finished strongly. Two half-century stands carried them to 169 for 2. It felt competitive. It turned out to be more than enough. The average first-innings score was less than 160.
Australia muddle vs resurgent Zimbabwe
Australia’s chase never truly settled. By the time you would’ve thought that they would go away with the chase, the current ODI Champions had lost the core of their powerful batting unit. Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans came breathing fire. Within the Powerplay, Australia were 29 for 4. Inglis fell, Green and Tim David bagged ducks, and Travis Head dragged one back onto his stumps. The shock wasn’t creeping in; it was staring them in the face.
Glenn Maxwell and Matt Renshaw stitched together a 77-run stand to revive hope. But their 77 runs came at a run rate of 7.8 as they tried to consolidate after early hiccups. But by the time Maxwell got holed out, the required rate soared up to 11.2.
Renshaw fought hard for his 65 and given his incredible form leading into the tournament, the Men in Green would’ve thought that they are covered. But just as Australia looked steady, Ryan Burl bowled Maxwell and the lower order unravelled. Marcus Stoinis, already nursing a hand injury from earlier in the game, couldn’t make an impact.
Muzarabani returned to finish with 4 for 17, now the best bowling figures by a Zimbabwean in a T20 World Cup and the second-best ever against Australia in the tournament. Evans closed it out with a run-out, and Colombo erupted.
