Zimbabwe defeated Australia by 23 runs in a historic Group B upset at the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on February 13, 2026.
Playing at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Zimbabwe posted 169/2 and successfully defended it by bowling out a depleted Australian side for 146 in 19.3 overs.
In a pursuit to attack from the start, Australian batters tried to play explosive shots and lost the early wickets. They were reduced to 29/4 from 4.3 overs.
However, Glenn Maxwell (31) and Matt Renshaw (65) joined hands to add 77 runs from 59 deliveries for the fifth wicket.
The recovery lived short as the innings suffered a collapse after the dismissal of the former. The team lost six wickets in 40 runs and were bundled out on 146 from 106/4.
Blessing Muzarabani was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-0-17-4 and was awarded the Man of the Match for his impressive performance. Brad Evans scalped three wickets while conceding 23 runs.
This victory marks Zimbabwe’s second-ever win over Australia in T20 World Cups, maintaining an undefeated record against them in the tournament’s history (previously winning in 2007).
