Zimbabwe beat Oman by eight wickets in their opener at ICC T20 World Cup 2026
Chevrons chased down Oman's 104-run target in 13.3 overs
Brian Bennett starred with bat, Blessing Muzarabani with ball
Brian Bennett demonstrated his class on the big stage with an undefeated 36-ball 48 to complement the bowlers' excellent showing and propel Zimbabwe to an eight-wicket victory over Oman in their Group B match of ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo on Monday (February 9).
Blessing Muzarabani wreaked havoc with the new ball before his seam-bowling colleague Richard Ngarava joined him in the demolition job to bundle 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.
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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. Bennett and experienced wicketkeeper Brendan Taylor, who retired hurt on 31 at the verge of victory, later put on 68 runs for the third wicket to complete the task for Zimbabwe in just 13.3 overs.
The Chevrons finished unbeaten through the Africa Regional Final to qualify for the 20-over showpiece and used warm-up matches to fine-tune their combinations, beating the Netherlands before losing to Oman in a high-scoring practice game earlier in Colombo.
Oman, meanwhile, arrived with confidence built from a strong warm-up campaign that included chasing down Zimbabwe’s total with four wickets in hand.
Zimbabwe Vs Oman, ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Toss Update
Zimbabwe won the toss and opted to bowl first.
Zimbabwe Vs Oman, ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Playing XIs
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (c), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
Oman: Jatinder Singh (c), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed
Zimbabwe Vs Oman, ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Squads
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (c), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Wellington Masakadza, Brad Evans, Tinotenda Maposa, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Tony Munyonga, Clive Madande, Graeme Cremer
Oman: Jatinder Singh (c), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Jiten Ramanandi, Nadeem Khan, Sufyan Mehmood, Shakeel Ahmed, Shah Faisal, Mohammad Nadeem, Jay Odedra, Ashish Odedara, Shafiq Jan
