T20 World Cup 2026: Zimbabwe begin with win over Oman
What's the story
Zimbabwe kicked off their ICC T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a win over Oman at Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo. The Sikandar Raza-led side successfully chased down 104 to win the Group B encounter. Brian Bennett and Brendan Taylor led the charge after Zimbabwe lost two quick wickets. Earlier, the likes of Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, and Brad Evans took three wickets each.
Collapse
Oman suffer top-order collapse
Being invited to bat, Oman lost four wickets in the first four overs only. Muzarabani sent three batters back, while Ngarava dismissed Hammad Mirza. Skipper Raza introduced himself after the Powerplay and immediately dismissed Wasim Ali. Oman, who slumped to 27/5, then rode on a defiant 42-run stand between Vinayak Shukla and Sufyan Mehmood. However, Ngarava broke the stand by dismissing Shukla (28).
Finish
Oman perish for 103
Ngarava took another quick wicket in the form of Jiten Ramanandi, while Brad Evans dismissed the set Sufyan Mehmood (25). Down to 76/8, Oman's innings was stretched by Nadeem Khan, who scored an 18-ball 20. He was Zimbabwe's final victim as Evans dismissed him. Although it was Evans's scalp, Bennett took an outstanding diving catch in the outfield.
Wickets
Three wickets each for the trio
Muzarabani, who shone in the Powerplay, was the pick of Zimbabwe's bowlers. He finished with 3/16 (4). Ngarava and Evans also made a mark with figures of 3/17 and 3/18, respectively. Ngarava, Zimbabwe's highest wicket-taker, has raced to 111 scalps from 91 T20Is at 20.96. Raza has 103 scalps at 22.87, while Muzarabani is closing in on 100 wickets (96 wickets at 21.78).
Information
Notable records for Zimbabwe
According to Cricbuzz, 103 is the lowest total against Zimbabwe in a T20 World Cup match. This was the first instance of Zimbabwe pacers taking nine wickets in a T20I.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe win despite two early blows
Zimbabwe's chase was off to a solid start as openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani added 30 runs. However, Sufyan Mehmood dismissed both Marumani and Dion Myers in the same over, bringing Zimbabwe down to 30/2. It was a straightforward chase thereafter, with Bennett and Taylor sealing it. While Taylor was retired hurt for 31, Bennett and Raza got Zimbabwe home in 13.3 overs.