Online Reporter
Brian Bennet first half century has seen Zimbabwe setting Australia a target of 170 runs to win in the in a 2026 ICC T20 World Cup Group B match currently underway in Colombo, Sri-Lanka.
After winning the toss, Australia opted to field first, sending Zimbabwe to bat.
Bennet scored his first T20 half century with an unbeaten 64 runs of 56 balls.
Tadiwanashe Marumani and Brian Bennett combined well with a first wicket partnership of 61 runs.
Marumani posted 35 runs off 21 balls before being dismissed in the 8th over.
Ryan Burl came in, taking over from Marumani with a second wicket partnership of 70 runs with Bennet.
Burl scored 35 runs off 30 balls.
Zimbabwe captain, Sikandar Raza scored an unbeaten 25 off 13 balls.
Zimbabwe reached the 169 mark in their allotted 20 overs, setting Australia a target of 170 runs to win in 20 overs.
Our Reporter Don Makanyanga is giving you live updates.
‘We are going to do something special’
Ryan Burl has revealed that the 170 run target that they set Australia was the teams target going into their second match of Group B match against Australia at the 2026 ICC T20 World Cup in Colombo.
After Australia won the toss and put the Chevrons to bat, Burl and company managed 169.
Great partnership between Brian Bennet and Tadiwanashe Marumani, and then Bennett and Burl, did the trick.
Sikandar Raza came in to push the run rate in the last overs.
Burl said “Pretty good powerplay.
“We were happy with that. Went according to the blueprint.
“And the engine room in the middle allowed us to go hard at the end. I think before we came here we
identified this isn’t a 200 kind of a wicket.
“We were targeting something around 170 so that’s a box checked.
“Both spinners bowled from the Top End so we had to wait and try and go after one of the quicks at the end.
“We’ve done our job with the bat and let’s hope the bowlers can back us up now and hopefully we can put up a good fight and do something special,” he said.
Curran replaces Taylor
INJURED Brendan Taylor has been replaced by Ben Curran at the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka.
Taylor was ruled out of the ongoing Australia match after the Oman win.
He sustained a right hamstring injury during that opening match in Colombo on 9 February.
ZC confirmed that after “a medical assessment, it was determined that he will not recover in time to take any further part in the competition”.
Curran, 29, is a left-handed top-order batter who has featured in eight Tests and eight One-Day Internationals for Zimbabwe, but is yet make his debut in the shortest format.
Zim pick four wickets
Zimbabwe have taken four wickets in the powerplay as they seek a win against Australia who are targeting 170 to win at the ongoing Group B match of the ICC T20 World Cup in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Brad Evans and Blessing Muzarabani took two wickets each to put Australia under pressure.
After 10 overs, the Chevrons have managed to restrict their opponents to just 67 runs.
Zimbabwe wins
Zimbabwe have won their second match of the ICC T20 World Cup against Australia by 23 runs.
The Chevrons had set 169, and Australia could only manage 146 all-out in 19.3 overs.
Mazarabani on Australia win
BLESSING Muzarabani says he knew they had to do something special bowling against some of the best in the world.
He was speaking after the Chevrons won their second match of the ICC T20 World Cup against Australia by 23 runs.
The Chevrons had set 169, and Australia could only manage 146 all-out in 19.3 overs.
Muzarabani’s 4 wickets Brad Evans 3 did the damage.
Asked on his best spell, Muzarabani said: “Yeah. I think I was bowling to some of the best players in the world so I am really happy it came off really nice.
“The good thing is, I saw the boundary was in my favour and I just had to use that. And the wicket was also a bit slow. [On missing Ngarava] I believe Brad Evans bowled really well.
“Richie was missed but Brad bowled really well and then everyone else also bowled very well. It’s sometimes hard to know the yorker length but sometimes it just works out on the day.
“Really good to beat Australia, but also [will be] nice to qualify, so looking forward to the next game now.”
Was Travis decision after winning toss right?
AUSTRALIA captain Travis Head believes his decision to put Zimbabwe to bat after winning the toss was good, but they still could not deliver as they lost too many wickets in their own innings.
Zimbabwe eventually won by 23 runs after setting a total of 169.
Head siad: “We thought it’s a good wicket. A bit tacky at the start and we thought it would be even through the two innings. Even though we only took two wickets, I thought they were a bit under par.
“But we lost early wickets and came under pressure. They played well. I still felt like we’d have taken the score and were happy to chase that. The feedback throughout was that it was a good wicket. We put ourselves under pressure by losing wickets.
“We found a partnership in the middle but we left ourselves with too many. [On injuries and the defeat]
We’ve been there before.
“I said at the toss, we saw it in 2023 with a few defeats and injuries. We have a few guys here who were there in India in 2023 and we’ll look to navigate this situation and use that blueprint.”
Raza Injury Scare… captain speaks on win
CHEVRONS captain Sikandar Raza says his injury is not serious and he should be ready for the Ireland challenge.
He was speaking after Zimbabwe’s 23-run win over Australia in their second Group B match at the ICC T20 World Cup on Friday.
“These are just cramps and I should be fine in the next day or two,” said Raza.
On the win and strategy against Australia, he said:
“I am very happy and above all, very proud. The feeling of a brother whose younger brothers are achieving a lot together. The culture, environment, and unity we’ve created is amazing and on top of that, to win is unbelievable.
“70-odd at 10 overs and I was happy and we discussed that we don’t want to go for 190. We try to go for 190, we are 140 all out. We’ve seen in Sri Lanka that you can end up losing wickets if you go too hard too early.
“So we sent a message to Benny that he’s doing well and we’ll get to a good score if he stays through. And then the fielding, the catching, the boundary stopping looked like the boys really wanted it.”
On other injuries in the team, he said: “We have just 13 able bodies right now and I went down and even Cremer has a big of a niggle. But I am sure Zimbabwe Cricket is looking into the replacements because in these conditions, you need 15 able bodies. The boys deserve to enjoy today. If we keep the same processes, and take it one game at a time, it’ll be good. We are in a great position, but it doesn’t mean anything. So the next game is now the most important one.”
