Brendon Taylor got retired hurt after scoring 31 off 30 balls
Zimbabwe beat Oman by 8 wickets in match 10 of the World Cup
Zimbabwe are currently at the top of Group B
Hours after Italy captain Wayne Madsen dislocated his left arm during their ICC T20 World Cup debut outing against Scotland, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Brendan Taylor left the field with a hamstring injury as Zimbabwe chased Oman's 103 on Monday (February 9, 2026).
At Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club, Taylor was completing a second run in the 13th over when he appeared to sustain the injury. The 40-year-old from Harare was forced to walk off with Zimbabwe needing six runs to win. He scored 31 off 30 with three fours before being retired out.
Zimbabwe eventually won the Group B match by eight wickets with skipper Sikandar Raza hitting the winning runs, a four off Karan Sonavale. The win, with 6.3 overs to spare, helped Zimbabwe move top of the table on net run rate (+1.450), ahead of Sri Lanka, who defeated Ireland by 20 runs yesterday.
Australia are the fifth team in the group, and the 2021 champions will open their campaign with a clash against Ireland on Wednesday.
"The main concern is Brendan Taylor. As soon as I saw that, because I’ve seen that picture far too many times, I made eye contact with him, and I wanted him out," Raza discussed the injury after the win. Zimbabwe will take on Australia on Friday.
Taylor is the only player at the 2026 T20 World Cup who has also featured in the first edition of the tournament. In the 2007 World Cup, he scored 60 not out to help Zimbabwe pull off a shock win over Australia.
"This has happened before, where he carried on playing and made it worse. He's a key member of our team, so I didn’t want to take that chance," the skipper added. "Hopefully, we’ve got three or four days, but we’ll wait for the scan. His initial reaction was, I think it’s bad, but we’ll wait for the medical report."
Meanwhile, Blessing Muzarabani was adjudged player of the match for his fiery spell of 3/16 in four overs, including a maiden. Fellow pacers Richard Ngarava (3/17) and Richard Ngarava (3/18) also claimed three wickets each.
Another talking point from the match was Brian Bennett's outing. The 22-year-old youngster not only topped the scoring charts with an unbeaten 48 off 36, but also took a stunning catch to end the Oman innings. He covered some 20 metres to his right to complete the catch of Nadeem Khan at deep midwicket.
Watch the catch here:
Earlier in the day, Italy's World Cup debut at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, became a double whammy for the European minnows. Opting to chase, Italy needed a good start on the field, but ended up losing captain Madsen inside the first power play.
He tried to stop a George Munsey pull shot off Thomas Draca in the fourth over, but his dive on one of the practice pitches left the 42-year-old clutching his left hand. Later, the team confirmed dislocation. In Madsen's absence, Harry Manenti led the team. And the historic outing ended in a 73-run defeat, managing only 134(16.4) in reply to Scotland's 207/4.
"Wayne obviously had a tough fall in that powerplay there and hit the deck. So, obviously, more to come with that, and hopefully, he's alright," said Manenti. "And, Wayne's obviously our leader. He's played for a long time and was so deserving to show the world his abilities."
Italy face Nepal in a crucial Group C match at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Thursday, while Scotland face two-time champions England at Eden Gardens on Saturday.
