Zimbabwe Defeat Oman by Eight Wickets in T20 World Cup Clash
Zimbabwe began their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a convincing eight-wicket victory over Oman at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on Monday, producing a dominant all-round performance to secure an easy win in their tournament opener.
Chasing a modest target of 104, Zimbabwe reached the total in 14 overs, losing just two wickets. Openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani gave the chase early momentum, scoring freely in what was otherwise a low-scoring contest. Marumani was dismissed in the fourth over by Sufyan Mehmood for 21 off 11 balls, including five boundaries, ending a 30-run opening stand. Soon after, Dion Myers departed for a second-ball duck, briefly leaving Zimbabwe at 30 for two in 3.3 overs.
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Bennett then found solid support from Brendan Taylor as the pair rebuilt the innings and guided Zimbabwe past the 50-run mark in the seventh over with a steady partnership. Taylor, however, was forced to retire hurt after scoring 31 off 30 balls, bringing skipper Sikandar Raza to the crease. Raza sealed the victory in style by striking a boundary for the winning runs and remained unbeaten on five off two balls, while Bennett top-scored with a composed 48 off 36 deliveries, hitting seven fours.
Earlier, Oman endured a disastrous start after opting to bat first. Captain Jatinder Singh was dismissed for a run-a-ball five on the first delivery of the second over, bowled by Blessing Muzarabani. The pressure intensified in the following over when Hammad Mirza fell for a five-ball duck to Richard Ngarava, leaving Oman struggling at 8 for two in 2.2 overs.
Oman’s troubles deepened in the fourth over as Kaleem was dismissed for five off seven balls, including a boundary, while Karan Sonavale was sent back for a duck in the same over. The collapse continued when Sikandar Raza clean-bowled Wasim Ali for three, reducing Oman to 27 for five inside six overs.
A 42-run partnership between Sufyan Mehmood and Vinayak Shukla offered brief resistance and helped Oman cross the 50-run mark. However, Ngarava broke the stand by dismissing Shukla for 28 off 21 balls, which included four boundaries, and struck again in the same over to remove Jiten Ramanandi for one. Brad Evans later dismissed Mehmood, who top-scored for Oman with 25 off 39 balls, including two fours.
Despite late contributions from Nadeem Khan and Shakeel Ahmed, Oman could only manage 103 before being bowled out. Shah Faisal struck a boundary off his first delivery to push the total past 100, while Nadeem Khan was the final wicket to fall after scoring 20 off 18 balls.
For Zimbabwe, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans led the bowling attack with three wickets each, while Sikandar Raza claimed one, as Zimbabwe wrapped up a comprehensive victory to make a strong start to their T20 World Cup campaign.
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