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Zimbabwe's Pace Trio Demolish Oman for 103 in T20 WC Opener

Zimbabwe's pace attack, led by Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, and Brad Evans, dismantled Oman's batting lineup, restricting them to just 103 runs. Oman's innings got off to a disastrous start, losing early wickets and struggling to build partnerships. A 42-run stand between Vinayak Shukla and Sufiyan Mehmood offered some resistance, but the bowlers struck back regularly. Zimbabwe's disciplined bowling performance has given them a strong start to their T20 World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign.

Key Points: Zimbabwe Bowlers Dominate Oman in T20 World Cup 2026

  • Oman bundled out for 103
  • Muzarabani, Ngarava, Evans take 3 wickets each
  • 42-run partnership provides brief resistance
  • Zimbabwe start T20 WC 2026 campaign strongly
2 min read

T20 WC: Muzarbani, Ngarava and Evans take three wickets each as Zimbabwe bowl out Oman for 103

Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, and Brad Evans take three wickets each as Zimbabwe bowl out Oman for 103 in their T20 World Cup opener.

"The fast bowling trio... picked three wickets each as Zimbabwe bowled out Oman for 103 runs - Match Report"

Colombo, Feb 9

The fast bowling trio of Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans picked three wickets each as Zimbabwe bowled out Oman for 103 runs in 19.5 overs in their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign opener at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo on Monday.

Being put to bat after losing the toss, Oman were off to a disastrous start as Muzarbani clean bowled skipper Jatinder Singh (5) with a good length ball on the first ball of the second over.

Oman's experienced batter Hammad Mirza followed suit as he was dismissed in the next over by Richard Ngarava.

As the pressure increased on the batting side, Muzarbani came back for his second over and sent Aamir Kaleem, who became the oldest player to feature in a T20 World Cup match. At 44 years and 81 days of age, Kaleem broke the record of Ryan Campbell, who played at 44 years and 34 days.

Zimbabwe's star bowler edged out Karan Sonavale, who went for a duck in the same over. Oman lost their fifth wicket at the score of 27 when Wasim Ali was clean bowled by the skipper Sikandar Raza after the powerplay.

As the Oman team were heading towards an early all-out, wicketkeeper batter Vinayak Shukla and Sufiyan Mehmood showed some fightback. The duo forged a 42-run partnership, the team's highest in the innings, which helped the team cross their lowest total mark.

However, their resistance didn't last long, as Vinayak was undone by Ngarava in the 15th over. Vinayak scored 28 runs and hit four boundaries during his stay at the crease. Ngarava took his third wicket in the same over as Jiten Ramanandi edged a short-pitched ball, which was caught by wicketkeeper Dion Myers.

Sufyan continued the charge but got out in the 17th over trying to pull a slower delivery. He scored 25 runs off 39 balls and hit two fours.

Nadeem Khan provided a late push with a brisk 20 off 18 but was dismissed by Evans in the last over, putting an end to Oman's innings.

For Zimbabwe, Muzarbani, Ngarava and Evans were the most successful bowlers. Muzarbani finished with the figures of 3 for 16, while Ngarava finished with 3-17. Brad Evans also took three wickets while giving out 18 runs. Skipper Raza took one wicket in his four overs.

Brief Scores: Oman 103/10 in 19.5 (Vinayak Shukla 28, Sufyan Mehmood 25; Blessing Muzarbani 3-16, Richard Ngarava 3-17, Brad Evans 3-18) against Zimbabwe.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

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Priya S
Oman collapsed badly after that start. 27/5 is just not acceptable at this level. They need to work on their top-order batting technique against quality pace. Respect to Aamir Kaleem for playing at 44 though! That's some passion.
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Arjun K
Zimbabwe's bowling unit is underrated. Muzarabani, Ngarava, and Evans sharing the wickets is a great sign. If their batting clicks, they could be dark horses. From an Indian fan's perspective, it's good for world cricket when teams like Zimbabwe do well.
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Sarah B
Watching from the US. The coverage was good! It's interesting to see the T20 World Cup pathway events. 103 is a very low total, even for T20. Zimbabwe should chase this easily unless they have a major batting collapse.
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Vikram M
Shukla and Mehmood showed some fight, but the top order just vanished. You can't win matches losing half your side in the powerplay. Basic cricket sense was missing. Hope Oman learns from this. Zimbabwe bowlers exploited the conditions perfectly.
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Karthik V
Respectful criticism: The article is fine, but the headline and intro could highlight it's a *qualifier* match for the 2026 World Cup, not the main tournament itself. Some casual fans might get confused. Otherwise, good detailed reporting of the bowling spells! 👍

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