CRICKET – Australia were dealt an early blow in their quest to reach the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup after the depleted former champions crashed to a 23-run defeat by Zimbabwe in Colombo yesterday.
Opening batsman Brian Bennett’s unbeaten 64 helped Zimbabwe set a target of 170 at the R Premadasa Stadium, and Australia got off to a disastrous start as they sought a second victory to take control of Group B.
The 2021 winners lost four wickets inside the first five overs before Glenn Maxwell responded with a battling 31, but his departure left them in deeper trouble at 106-5 with a little more than five overs left.
Matt Renshaw attempted to steady the ship again during his innings of 65 but Zimbabwe’s bowlers, led by player of the match Blessing Muzarabani (4-17) and Brad Evans (3-23), turned up the heat to dismiss Australia for 146 in 19.3 overs.
“I’m very happy, but above all very proud,” said Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza, who struggled with cramp in punishing humidity midway through the match and had to come off.
“It was nice to watch from outside and see how the team went about their business (showing) the culture and the unity that we have created over a long time.”
Facing Australia in a T20 World Cup for the first time in 19 years and looking to build on a famous five-wicket win, Zimbabwe reached 47 for no loss in six powerplay overs after being asked to bat.
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