T20 World Cup 2026: And out of nowhere comes a shocking sting from Zimbabwe
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T20 World Cup 2026: And out of nowhere comes a shocking sting from Zimbabwe Photograph: (AFP)
Zimbabwe continued their giant-killing run on Thursday (Feb 19) after they beat co-hosts Sri Lanka in the 2026 T20 World Cup. Playing at the R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, Zimbabwe’s win saw them top Group B in the T20 World Cup 2026.
It must certainly bite and eat a hole in the hearts of the Australian fans when the heavens opened up above the Pallekele International cricket stadium at Kandy in Sri Lanka last Tuesday. What looked like a temporary cloud burst turned into a relentless downpour that forced the match officials to call off the Ireland vs Zimbabwe Group B game of the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup 2026.
With the lights dimming in the stadium following the washout, a gleaming smile beamed across the faces of Zimbabwe fans as the Chevrons booked a spot in the Super 8s.
Their Aussie counterparts added more moisture and precipitation on the ground as teardrops came drizzling down the cheeks of Aussie fans as their team bid adieu to the tournament following the shocking exit.
Whilst the Aussies continue to grieve over the embarrassing and humiliating exodus from the T20 World Cup, the Emerald Island is tapping their feet to some new rhythmic tunes that are coming out of the ‘Castle Corner’ (a band of six Zimbabwe fans that have travelled to Sri Lanka to support their team), much to the chagrin of the kangaroos.
The band of six, alongside several other motley groups of Zimbabwe fans, cheered and sloganeered to every wicket scalped and run scored by their beloved Chevrons.
Locked and loaded in a group armed with heavyweights like Australia and Sri Lanka, nobody would have given them a chance to qualify, let alone finish undefeated at the top of their seeded group.
Exploiting the absence of Captain Mitchell Marsh, The Chevrons jostled the Australian bowlers, getting to a decent total of 169 for the loss of two wickets with a half-century from Brian Bennett. Following this came a divine intervention in the form of Blessing Muzarabani, scalping four wickets for 17 runs in his four-over spell that included the likes of opener Josh Inglis, Tim David and Matt Renshaw, breaking the lynchpin or the cog in the Australian run chase, bowling them out before the end of the 20th over.
Days later, after humbling Australia, the next task at hand for Zimbabwe was taming the co-hosts Sri Lanka in their own backyard. Roaring their way through the tournament by steamrolling Australia by 8 wickets, many might have expected Sri Lanka to romp Zimbabwe and finish undefeated on top of Group B. But the Chevrons had other ideas. Restricting Sri Lanka to 178, Zimbabwe ensnared the Sri Lankan spinners and went about their business chasing the target with three balls to spare.
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Defending a target, Zimbabwe gave a giant killing sting to Australia. On the other hand, while chasing a target against Sri Lanka, the Chevrons made a statement that their victory was not a flash in the pan.
Amidst the Brimming smiles, Zimbabwe and their captain Sikander Raza would certainly not forget the horrid time their cricket team had to go through on and off the field.
Around two years ago, Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the 2024 T20 World Cup that took place in the West Indies and USA.
The Chevrons did not get past the group stage in the 2022 edition in Australia.
While they failed to qualify for the 2021 T20 World Cup and the 2023 and 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup (50-overs).
They were also suspended by the ICC in 2019 for government interference and were later reinstated that same year.
However, fortunes did swing Zimbabwe’s way last year by putting the impetus on Test Cricket. While many of the teams (both full members and associates) pack up their calendars with T20Is and franchise cricket, Zimbabwe decided to play the longest format to quell their issues in the shorter formats of the game.
In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Zimbabwe Cricket Chairman Tavengwa Mukhulani said that they will fix their white-ball problems by playing Test Cricket. According to Mukhulani, Players can work and improve on their basics by playing the longest format.
Zimbabwe’s tilt towards Test Cricket was calibrated. The Chevrons were scheduled to play eleven Test matches and played ten (Eight at Home) in the last calendar year alone. Only Australia has played equal to or more test matches in the past year.
Furthermore, Zimbabwe is projected to get an annual revenue of around $17.64 million as per the ICC’S finance model (2024-27). This roughly comes to about 3% of the total $600 million dollars that the International Cricket Council is estimated to earn in the three-year cycle between 2024 & 2027.
This pales in comparison to teams like India, which is projected to earn $231 million or 40% of the $600 million that ICC is set to make by the end of the three-year cycle.
As per ESPNcricinfo, Zimbabwe spent around $500,000 to organize a Test Match last year. This means that Zimbabwe spent about 2.79% of their annual revenue on holding Test Matches in 2025.
Although the Chevrons managed only two victories out of the Ten Test matches (Home & Away) they played last year, the results have bore fruition. Players like Blessing Muzarabani came through the rigors by scalping 42 wickets with an average of 26.8 against oppositions like England, South Africa, New Zealand, Bangladesh, Ireland and Afghanistan.
Meanwhile, Brian Bennett scored 509 runs with two centuries and two half-centuries against England, Afghanistan and Bangladesh at an average of almost 30.
The numbers might be minuscule, but the results have been positive considering the success they have had in the ongoing T20 World Cup.
