Zimbabwe Beat Australia in the T20 World Cup!
COLOMBO: Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza praised his team after securing a resounding 20-run victory over Australia in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
The result marked one of the biggest upsets of the tournament so far, as Zimbabwe outperformed the former champions in every department, continuing their impressive winning streak.
Electing to bat first, Zimbabwe produced a confident batting performance, totaling a competitive 169-2.
Opener Brian Bennett led the innings with a solid 64 from 56 deliveries, hitting seven boundaries. Meanwhile, captain Sikandar Raza added momentum at the end with an unbeaten 25 from just 13 balls.
For Australia, only Cameron Green and Marcus Stoinis managed to pick up wickets, while Zimbabwe built a solid foundation.
Zimbabwe inflicted a poor start on Australia, reducing them to 29-4 in five overs.
A combative 77-run partnership between Glenn Maxwell and Matt Renshaw briefly revived the chase, but the required pace continued to increase the pressure.
Australia were eventually bowled out for 146.
Sikandar Raza took to X and praised his team for defeating a strong Australian side.
“This team. No words to describe what we all feeling today but we are aware what lies ahead and in sha Allah we remain committed and focused,” he wrote.
“Keep praying for us and in sha Allah we keep going,” Raza added.
Interestingly, this was only the second meeting between the two teams in the T20 World Cup, with Zimbabwe now holding a perfect 2-0 record after also defeating Australia in the inaugural edition in 2007.
With two consecutive wins, including the previous one against Oman, Zimbabwe has strengthened its chances of advancing to the next round. They will face Ireland and Sri Lanka in the remaining group matches.
Australia, however, must win both of their remaining matches against Sri Lanka and Oman to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the Super Eight.
