In the first upset of ICC Group B-T20 World Cup match, Zimbabwe stun former champions Australia by 23 runs on Friday in Colombo. It is the second instance where Zimbabwe has beaten Australia in a T20 World Cup with the first upset coming in 2007.
Zimbabwe scored a challenging 169 for two against an injury-plagued Australia in a Group B T20 World Cup match. The highlight of the Zimbabwe innings, after they were sent in to bat, was the 61-run stand for the opening wicket between Marumani and Bennett off 7.3 overs. Marumani hit two fours off Ben Dwarshuis in the third over and three boundaries off Glenn Maxwell in the fourth over after a sedate start.
Bennett joined the party with two boundaries in the fifth over bowled by Matthew Kuhnemann, taking Zimbabwe to a decent 47 for no loss at the end of power play. Adam Zampa was handled very nicely by the Zimbabwean batters, as he remained wicket-less, returning figures of 0/31 from his four overs.
Australia’s chase was off to a shaky start, losing four wickets within the powerplay. A 77-run partnership between Glenn Maxwell and Matt Renshaw for the fifth wicket provided some resistance, but once they fell, Zimbabwe took control and secured their first T20 World Cup win over Australia since 2007.
Australia needed 56 runs from the final five overs but Marcus Stoinis, who earlier left the field after being hit during the Zimbabwe innings, got out soon for 6. Bennett took a stunning catch near the boundary to dismiss Ben Dwarshuis (7) for Brad Evan’s third wicket of the day. The target became 34 from 12 balls but Australia lost Renshaw and Adam Zampa (2) in the 19th over, and Matthew Kuhnemann (0) was run out in the final over.
This victory propels Zimbabwe to joint-top of the Group B points table with Sri Lanka, both teams now having 4 points.
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