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Zimbabwe Crush Oman by 8 Wickets in T20 World Cup Opener

Zimbabwe launched their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign with a commanding eight-wicket victory over Oman in Colombo. Their pace attack, led by Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava, and Brad Evans, dismantled Oman's batting lineup, restricting them to 103 runs. Chasing a modest target, Zimbabwe reached it comfortably in just 13.3 overs, thanks to a solid partnership between Brian Bennett and Brendan Taylor. The match also saw Oman's Aamir Kaleem become the oldest player to feature in a T20 World Cup match.

Key Points: Zimbabwe vs Oman: T20 World Cup 2026 Stats & Highlights

  • Zimbabwe bowled Oman out for 103
  • Fast bowlers Muzarabani, Ngarava, Evans took 3 wickets each
  • Bennett & Taylor's 68-run partnership sealed the win
  • Oman's Aamir Kaleem became oldest T20 WC player
2 min read

T20 WC: All the stats from Zimbabwe's dominant 8-wicket win over Oman

Zimbabwe dominates Oman by 8 wickets in T20 World Cup. Key stats, records, and player performances from the match in Colombo.

"Zimbabwe began their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign in emphatic fashion - Match Report"

Colombo, Feb 9

Zimbabwe began their T20 World Cup 2026 campaign in emphatic fashion, registering a dominant eight-wicket victory over Oman as they chased down a modest target of 103 in just 13.3 overs in the eighth match of the tournament at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo on Monday.

The fast bowling trio of Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans picked up three wickets each as Zimbabwe bowled out Oman for 103 runs in 19.5 overs after choosing to bowl first.

Coming in to chase an easy target, Zimbabwe were off to a strong start as both openers struck the ball fluently, with the team scoring at a run rate of over 10 runs per over in the first three overs.

Oman finally got their breakthrough in the fourth over when Sufyan Mehmood dismissed Tadiwanashe Marumani and Dion Myers.

After the back-to-back wickets, Zimbabwe wicketkeeper batter Brendan Taylor forged a match-winning 68-run partnership with opener Brian Bennett, who rotated the strike well. With this, Zimbabwe achieved the target easily in just 13.3 overs.

Here's a look at all the key stats from the Zimbabwe vs Oman Match

9 -Zimbabwe recorded their 9th win in the T20 World Cup matches. To date, they have played 21 matches, won 9 and lost 11. while 1 match produced no result.

8 - Oman suffered their 8th defeat in the 11th World Cup matches.

3 - Brendan Taylor was retired hurt in the 13th over of the innings, when he was playing. In the last 5 T20 innings, this was the 3rd instance when he was retired hurt.

103 -103 in 19.5 overs is Oman's 3rd lowest total in the T20 World Cup. Before this, they scored 47 v England in North Sound in 2024 and 65 for 9 v Bangladesh in Dharamsala in the 2016 World Cup.

Aamir Kaleem of Oman became the oldest player to feature in a T20 World Cup match. At 44 years and 81 days age Kaleem broke the record of Ryan Campbell, who played at 44 years and 34 days.

Lowest totals against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup

Total Overs For Venue Year

103 19.5 Oman Colombo 2026

116-9 20 UAE Sylhet 2014

129-8 20 Pakistan Perth 2022

132-6 20 Scotland Hobart 2022

136 19.4 Scotland Nagpur 2016

138-9 20 Australia Cape Town 2007

- IANS

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
Brian Bennett played a very mature innings. Rotating the strike after those quick wickets showed great temperament. Unlucky to miss his fifty, but a match-winning knock. Zimbabwe looks like a well-balanced side this year.
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Aditya G
Oman's batting collapse was painful to watch. 103 is just not a competitive total in T20 cricket, especially against a team like Zimbabwe. They need to work on their top order big time. Only Sufyan Mehmood showed some fight with both bat and ball.
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Priya S
Good to see Associate nations getting exposure, but the gulf in class was evident. Hope the ICC continues to support these teams. Zimbabwe chased it down so easily! Bennett and Taylor's partnership was the key. 🏏
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Michael C
While it's a dominant win, let's be honest, the quality of cricket wasn't top-tier. Too many loose shots from Oman and the pitch seemed pretty flat for the chase. Zimbabwe will face much stiffer tests ahead. A win is a win, though.
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Shreya B
Sufyan Mehmood was the lone warrior for Oman! 2 wickets and 25 runs. He tried his best. Sometimes one player can't win you the game. Zimbabwe's pace trio was just brilliant today. Exciting start to the World Cup!

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