T20 World Cup: Zimbabwe overcome Australia to inflict shocking upset
What's the story
In what can be called a major upset, Zimbabwe beat Australia by 23 runs in the Group B match of the ICC T20 World Cup at Colombo's R. Premadasa Cricket Stadium. Batting first, Zimbabwe posted a challenging total of 169/2 riding on a fifty from opener Brian Bennett. In response, Australia suffered a top-order collapse as even Matt Renshaw's half-century could not save them.
1st innings
Bennett powered Zimbabwe with three crucial partnerships
Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani (35) gave Zimbabwe a strong start with their 61-run opening partnership. Zimbabwe's middle-order batsmen also made significant contributions to the team's total. Ryan Burl scored 35 off 30 balls while captain Sikandar Raza chipped in with an unbeaten 25 off just 13 deliveries. Bennett added 70 runs with Burl and another 38* with Raza as Zimbabwe posted a challenging 169/2.
Chase
How did the run chase pan out?
Australia were off to the worst possible start as pacers Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans made two strikes each in the powerplay, reducing the Aussies to 29/4. Though Glenn Maxwell (31) and Renshaw recorded a 77-run partnership to rescue their team, the required run rate kept climbing up. At the end, the ask was too much as Australia were folded for 146 (19.3 overs).
Bennett
Bennett hammers his maiden T20 WC fifty
Bennett, who made an unbeaten 48 in Zimbabwe's T20 WC opener against Oman, hit seven fours en route to his 56-ball 64*. This knock took his T20I tally to 1,708 runs from 54 games at an average of 34.16. In addition to a century, Bennett has smashed 10 fifties. Notably, Bennett is featuring in his maiden T20 WC.
Numbers
Key numbers for Marumani, Burl, and Raza
Burl hit four fours in his 30-ball 35, which took him to 1,920 T20I runs at an average of 26.30. The aggressive Marumani smashed seven boundaries during his 21-ball 35. He now boasts 1,201 T20I runs at 20.01. Raza's unbeaten 25 off just 13 deliveries was laced with two fours and a six. The Zimbabwe skipper has completed 2,913 T20I runs at 26.
Renshaw
Maiden T20I fifty for Renshaw
Renshaw fought hard with his 44-ball 65, which was laced with five fours and a six. His maiden T20I fifty took him to 120 runs from five games at 24 (SR: 121.21). Overall, this was his ninth half-century in the 20-over format, as he also boasts a ton. Renshaw made 37 in Australia's opener against Ireland.
Tally
100 wickets for Muzarabani
Muzarabani was the pick of the Zimbabwe bowlers, claiming 4/17 from four overs. With his final scalp, Muzarabani became the third bowler to complete 100 T20I scalps for Zimbabwe. He has joined Richard Ngarava (111) and Raza (103). Across 85 games, the pacer averages 21.08 as his economy is 7.10. The one against Australia was his maiden four-fer in the format.
Information
19 wickets in T20 WCs
With this spell, Muzarabani has completed 19 wickets from just 10 T20 WC games at 12.21 (ER: 6.82). The pacer also recorded the best figures by a Zimbabwe bowler in the tournament's history.
Evans
Evans celebrates 50th T20 appearance with three-fer
Evans was also brilliant for Zimbabwe, finishing with 3/23 from 3.3 overs. Notably, this game marked Evans's 50th T20 appearance. The pacer has raced to 81 wickets at 14.09. His economy is a brilliant 6.95 as the tally includes four four-wicket hauls and a fifer. Coming to his T20I stats, this spell took him to 42 wickets from 27 games at 16.02.
DYK
Second win over Australia in T20 WCs
This was Zimbabwe's second win over the Aussies in T20 WCs, as the maiden one came in the 2007 edition in Cape Town. The two teams have not met in T20Is outside the tourney. Overall, Zimbabwe now have five international wins over Australia. Meanwhile, Ireland and Pakistan are the only other full-member teams to lose a T20 WC match against Zimbabwe (both in 2022).