T20 World Cup: Unbeaten Zimbabwe overpower Sri Lanka in Colombo thriller

Colombo [Sri Lanka], February 19 (ANI): Zimbabwe defeated the co-hosts Sri Lanka by six wickets in their last group-stage fixture of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 held at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday.
With this win, Zimbabwe finished at the top of Group B with three wins in four matches. Their last match against Ireland was washed out, which helped them enter the Super Eights and knock Australia out of the tournament. Earlier, they had defeated Australia and Oman in the tournament.
Chasing a challenging target of 179 runs, the Sikandar Raza-led side started with a blazing start when the openers added 69 runs for the first wicket. The wicketkeeper-batter Tadiwanashe Marumani made 34 off 26 balls, including five fours and a six.
The other opener batter, Brian Bennett, remained unbeaten again and played a match-winning knock of 63 runs off 48 balls with the help of eight fours. He is yet to be dismissed in the tournament.
He made his second half-century of the tournament, which is also his 12th in T20Is. Bennett also joined Sean Williams in the list of most 50s for Zimbabwe in T20Is. Both are only behind Raza (17). This was his third unbeaten knock after making 48 not out against Oman in their opening fixture while chasing a modest target of 104 runs, and making 64 not out off 56 balls while batting first against Australia in their second group-stage match.
Dunith Wellalage provided the first breakthrough to Sri Lankans in the ninth over when Marumani lost his wicket. Ryan Burl replaced him at the crease, and he made a quick 23 off just 12 balls, including a six and a couple of fours.
Sri Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka dismissed him in the 12th over and Raza came to the crease. Raza started with a few singles, then shifted gears. He took the role of aggressor and kept hitting boundaries from one end.
Bennett kept rotating strike, and Raza kept finding the boundaries. The duo added 69 runs for the third wicket, which shifted the momentum of the match. When Raza lost his wicket in the 19th over, Zimbabwe were on the brink of winning the match.
With 13 runs needed in the last two overs, Dushan Hemantha came to bowl and dismissed Raza and Tashinga Musekiwa, while conceding just five runs.
Now, eight runs were needed in the final over, and Maheesh Theekshana came to bowl. But Tony Munyonga welcomed him with a six to shift the match in Zimbabwe's favour again. He took a single on the next delivery, and Bennett finished the run-chase with a cracking boundary and handed the Chevrons their second-highest successful run-chase in T20Is.
This is the fifth win of Zimbabwe against a full-member nation team at the T20 World Cups.
Zimbabwe hit seven sixes while chasing, which is the most by Zimbabwe in a T20 World Cup innings.
This is also the second-highest successful chase at Colombo RPS in T20Is, behind 215 runs chased by Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy in 2018.
This is also the second-highest successful chase against Sri Lanka in T20 World Cups, after England's 190 runs chase at Chattogram in the 2014 edition.
This was also Sri Lanka's 25th defeat at this venue in Colombo. They have played 34 matches and have won only nine matches.
Earlier, opting to bat first, Sri Lanka started with a good pace, adding 54 runs in the first five overs. Pathum Nissanka played another big knock and made 62 runs off 41 balls, including eight fours.
Pavan Rathnayake also chipped in with a quick 25-ball 44, which helped Sri Lanka set a big total. Wellalage's 15 not out helped the Lankan Lions reach 178/7 in 20 overs.
Blessing Muzarabani, Brad Evans and Graeme Cremer took a couple of wickets each. Raza was named Player of the Match for his impactful knock.
Now, Zimbabwe will clash with the West Indies in their first match of the Super Eights at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, will take on England in their first Super Eights match on Sunday in Pallekele. (ANI)