Zimbabwe defeat Australia after 19 years!

2026-02-13 - 17:20

The Zimbabwe national cricket team defeated the Australia national cricket team by 23 runs today (13) in their match of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. This marks only the second time in T20 international history that Australia have been defeated by Zimbabwe. Today’s victory is Zimbabwe’s first T20 win against Australia in 19 years. The last occasion was in 2007, when Zimbabwe beat Australia by three wickets. The match was played at the R. Premadasa Stadium. Batting first, Zimbabwe put on a 61-run partnership between Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani. Marumani scored 35 runs, while Ryan Burl also contributed 35. Opening batsman Brian Bennett was the top scorer of the innings, remaining unbeaten on 64 off 56 balls. His innings included seven fours. Zimbabwe ended their allotted 20 overs on 169 for 2. In reply, Australia suffered an early collapse, losing their first four wickets for just 29 runs. Josh Inglis scored 8, while captain Travis Head was dismissed for 17. Under pressure from the Zimbabwe bowlers, three Australian batsmen were dismissed without scoring. Blessing Muzarabani delivered an outstanding bowling performance, claiming 4 wickets for 17 runs. With this spell, he reached the milestone of 100 wickets in T20 internationals. Chasing a target of 170, Australia were bowled out for 146, handing Zimbabwe a memorable victory.