Colombo: Zimbabwe began their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign in emphatic fashion, registering a dominant eight-wicket victory over Oman as they chased down a modest target of 103 in just 13.3 overs in the eighth match of the tournament at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground (SSC) in Colombo on Monday.
Opting to bowl, Blessing Muzarabani wreaked havoc with the new ball before his pace-bowling colleague Richard Ngarava joined him in the demolition job to skittle out Oman for 103.
The duo of Muzarabani (3/16 in 4 overs) and Richard Ngarava (3/17 in 4 overs) were the most successful bowlers for Zimbabwe as Oman put up an ordinary display with the bat.
They were in danger of being bowled out for a much lesser total after slipping to 27 for five in the seventh over.
Pacer Brad Evans also chipped in with impressive figures of 3/18 from 3.5 overs in a brilliant Zimbabwean bowling performance.
Zimbabwe them made a flying start to the chase courtesy of Tadiwanashe Marumani who blazed away to 21 off 11 balls before Wasim Ali pulled off a stunning catch to dismiss the opener. Sufyan Mehmood struck again in the same over, dismissing Dion Myers for a duck.
But Bennett and experienced wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor (31 retired hurt off 30 balls) put on 68 runs for the third wicket to complete the task for Zimbabwe in just 13. 3 overs.
Brief Scores: Oman all out for 103 in 19.5 (Vinayak Shukla 28, Sufyan Mehmood 25; Blessing Muzarbani 3-16, Richard Ngarava 3-17, Brad Evans 3-18) lost to Zimbabwe 106/2 in 13.3 overs (Brian Bennett 48, Brendan Taylor 31, Tadiwanashe Marumani 21; Sufyan Mehmood 2-12) by eight wickets. Agencies
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