Will Australia qualify for Super 8 after Zimbabwe’s defeat?: The 2026 T20 World Cup has been entertaining so far. After seeing some close matches, fans got their first upset in the match. Zimbabwe has defeated the Australian team by 23 runs in match number 19 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Chevron created history as they are yet to be defeated by the 2021 T20 World Champions in a T20 World Cup event.
Invited to bat first, Zimbabwe set a defendable score of 170 runs for the Australian team. Brian Bennett scored 64 off 56 balls to lead the way for the African nation in the major event. Chasing the target, Australia were struggling at 29/4 as Blessing Muzarabani dismantled the top order, taking two wickets of Josh Inglis and Tim David in the powerplay.
Australia still has to beat Zimbabwe in T20 World Cup
The Kangaroos then made a partnership of 77 runs with the help of Glenn Maxwell and Matt Renshaw, before Maxwell went back to the dressing room after scoring 31 runs from 32 balls. Renshaw was the top scorer with 65 runs from 44 balls. After Renshaw’s wicket, the Australian team was never able to make a comeback and were all out for 146 runs.
It is a historic win for Zimbabwe as they won their second game against the Men in Yellow in the T20 World Cup after 9 years. He did this for the first time in 2007. After Australia lost the game, the group is wide open and the Kangaroos will next face co-hosts Sri Lanka.
How will Australia qualify for the T20 World Cup knockouts?
Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe have won two out of two matches. The island nation leads the group table on the basis of run rate difference. The men in yellow play the co-hosts on Monday, a must-win game for them to remain in the race for the Super 8s.
First scenario: The Australian team has no option but to win both its remaining matches against Sri Lanka and Oman. However, even a win will not help them as they need to win by a big margin to increase their net run rate.
Second scenario: If Australia beats Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka beats Zimbabwe, and Zimbabwe beats Ireland, Australia, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe will finish on the same points, with net run rate determining qualification.
Third scenario: If Australia and Zimbabwe both defeat Sri Lanka, Australia and Zimbabwe will advance, while the co-hosts will be eliminated from the competition. To stay in the race, Australia will have to win over Sri Lanka and Oman.
Australia is struggling with injuries
Blessing Muzarabani was named man of the match for his exceptional performance of 4/17 in the game. The Kangaroos are already missing Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins due to separate injuries, and will hope that their regular captain Mitchell Marsh, who missed the first two matches due to a ‘testicular hemorrhage’ injury, can return against Sri Lanka.
After Marsh’s injury, Steve Smith has been called as backup. However, there has been no official confirmation whether Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup or not.
Also read: Blessing Muzarabani replaces Mustafizur Rahman in KKR
