Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Zimbabwe pulled off the first major upset of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, defeating Australia by 23 runs in the Group B fixture in Colombo on Friday.
Sent to bat first after losing the toss, Zimbabwe posted a competitive 169/2 in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, Australia were all out for 146 runs in 19.3 overs.
Zimbabwe openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani provided a solid foundation, adding 61 runs for the first wicket. Bennett scored an unbeaten 64 off 56 balls, while Marumani contributed 35 off 21 balls. Ryal Burl scored 35 off 30 balls, while Captain Sikandar Raz remained not out at 25 off 13 balls.
Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green took a wicket each for Australia.
Australia’s chase faltered early when they lost opener Josh Inglish (8) in the first ball of the second over with just 13 runs on board. Cameron Green and Tim David were out for duck. Australia were in deep trouble at 29/4 when their opener, Captain Travis Head (17), fell in the fifth over. Glenn Maxwell (31) and Matt Renshaw (65) steadied the Australian innings and took the team’s total past 100. However, Australia started losing wickets at regular intervals after Maxwell fell. Marcus Stoinis and Ben Dwarshuis contributed six each, Adam Zampa fell for 2, while Nathan Ellis remained not out at 7.
Blessing Muzarabani claimed four Australian wickets, giving just 7 runs in his four-over spell, while Brad Evans picked up three. Wellington Masakadza and Ryan Burl had a wicket each to their names.
The 23-run victory marks one of Zimbabwe’s most significant wins in T20 World Cup history and throws the group wide open early in the tournament.
