Colombo, February 13: Zimbabwe achieved a remarkable victory against Australia in the 19th match of the T20 World Cup 2026, winning by 23 runs. This stunning upset, which took place on Friday at the R. Premadasa Stadium, has left the cricketing world in awe. Legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar praised the Zimbabwean team, particularly Blessing Muzarabani, for their historic win.
Tendulkar took to social media platform ‘X’ to express his admiration, stating, “This is a statement win for Zimbabwe. Beating Australia by 23 runs showcases tremendous spirit. Indeed, Blessing has proven to be a ‘blessing’ in every sense with his outstanding bowling performance of 4 wickets. This tournament is truly becoming very exciting.”
Former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin also commended Zimbabwe’s fielding, saying, “This is a tremendous performance from Zimbabwe. Both batting and bowling were excellent, but Tony Munyonga’s fielding put pressure on the opposing team. He saved at least 12-15 runs and finished the match with a spectacular catch at deep mid-wicket. When the ground size is right, cricketing skills truly shine, allowing all aspects of the game to come into play. I really liked how balanced the pitches have been in this T20 World Cup.”
In the match, Zimbabwe batted first, scoring 169 runs for the loss of 2 wickets. Brian Bennett played a crucial role, remaining unbeaten with 64 runs off 56 balls, while Ryan Burl and Tadiwanashe Marumani contributed 35 runs each.
In response, the Australian team was bowled out for 146 runs in 19.3 overs. Matt Renshaw top-scored with 65 runs off 44 balls, hitting 6 boundaries, while Glenn Maxwell added 31 runs. Blessing Muzarabani was the standout bowler for Zimbabwe, taking 4 wickets for just 17 runs in his 4 overs.
With this victory, Zimbabwe has climbed to the second position in Group B of the points table, while Australia finds itself in third place after losing one of their two matches.
Deependra Singh Chundawat is a Senior Sub-Editor at Udaipur Kiran, specializing in a wide range of technology topics including mobile phones, applications, gaming, PCs, and wearables. Along with covering the latest tech news, he also creates engaging web stories. Passionate about emerging technologies, he stays up to date with the newest trends and enjoys reading and writing about the latest mobile launches and digital innovations.
