Zimbabwe Stuns Australia by 23 Runs in T20 World Cup Group B Clash

Colombo. In a Group B match of the T20 World Cup, Zimbabwe defeated Australia by 23 runs. Chasing a target of 170 runs for victory, Australia was bowled out for 146 in 19.3 overs. This marks the second time Australia has been stunned by Zimbabwe in a T20 World Cup.

In their only previous encounter during the inaugural edition in 2007, Zimbabwe had defeated Australia by 5 wickets. That performance by Zimbabwe against an Australian team filled with stars like Ricky Ponting as captain, Adam Gilchrist, Matthew Hayden, and Brett Lee, was historic.

For Australia, hampered by injuries, Matt Renshaw contributed the highest score of 65 runs. He hit 5 fours and 1 six off 44 balls. Glenn Maxwell scored 31 runs with the support of 1 four and 1 six off 32 balls. Apart from Captain Travis Head, who made 17 runs off 15 balls, no other batter reached double figures.

To dismiss Australia cheaply, Blessing Muzarabani took 4 wickets for 17 runs in 4 overs. Brad Evans grabbed 3 wickets. In the match held on Friday at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Zimbabwe had scored 169 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in their allotted 20 overs.

Opener Brian Bennett played a half-century innings for the team. He scored 64 runs off 56 balls, hitting 7 fours during this period. He shared half-century partnerships with opener Tadiwanashe Marumani and Ryan Burl.

Marumani and Burl contributed 35 runs each. Towards the end of the innings, Captain Sikandar Raza scored 25 runs off 13 balls, hitting 2 fours and 1 six. Marcus Stoinis and Cameron Green took 1 wicket each for Australia.

This is the second match for both teams. Australia had defeated Ireland by a massive margin of 67 runs in their first game. Zimbabwe also secured a magnificent 8-wicket victory over Oman in their opening match.