Australia began their ICC T20 World Cup campaign in Sri Lanka with some big expectations, especially after they were eliminated from the ICC T20 World Cup Super 8 last time out after losing to Afghanistan. However, they have continued their dismal performance in T20s with a defeat to weak Zimbabwe in the World Cup.
Australia started their campaign against Ireland, where their new captain Travis Head led them through a difficult phase and the Australian team started with a big win. However, their campaign has again been dealt a huge blow in the absence of their captain Mitchell Marsh.
In this edition of the T20 World Cup, the next two matches of the Australian team are to be against Sri Lanka and Oman. The Australian team will have to win both their upcoming matches and also keep an eye on their scoring rate. If Zimbabwe can also defeat hosts Sri Lanka then Australia’s chances will improve.
Brian Bennett helps Zimbabwe set mammoth target of 170 on slow Premadasa track
Australian stand-in captain Travis Head led Zimbabwe to bat first. The African team’s opening batsman Brian Bennett contributed heavily to Zimbabwe’s success. He has been their most brilliant batsman across all formats.
Bennett played till the end and he took charge of Zimbabwe’s innings by scoring 64 runs in 56 balls. He was part of three promising partnerships with opening batsman Marumani and all-rounder Ryan Burl, who was promoted up the batting order.
In the end, he stood strong with captain Sikandar Raza and performed well in the death overs to set an impressive target of 170 runs for the loss of only 2 wickets. Sikandar Raza scored 25 runs with the bat.
Blessing Muzarabani created World Cup history by clean bowling Australian batsmen.
Australia continues its fight against the African minnow. It’s been a dream World Cup for Blessing Muzarabani, as he has taken 7 wickets in two matches. Despite the return of Australian batsman Tim David, the Australians never looked close to Zimbabwe’s score as their innings continued to fall apart due to continuous loss of wickets.
While Matt Renshaw was their most surprising performer with 65, Muzarabani dismissed him in the second to last over of the game. Muzarabani took two early wickets with the new ball, including the wicket of David.
He then returned to the match with figures of 4/17 and was crowned Player of the Match for playing a vital role in Australia’s victory.
Zimbabwe sets undefeated record in T20 World Cup against Australia
Zimbabwe’s record against Australia in the ICC T20 World Cup has always been very good. With this win against Australia, Zimbabwe has now won against Australia a total of 3 times. The last time these two teams met in the T20 World Cup was in the 2007 World Cup, when Zimbabwe defeated Australia by 5 wickets.
This time Australia has been completely defeated by Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe have extended their undefeated record against Australia in the ICC T20 World Cup.
Zimbabwe’s unbeaten run against Australia in the World Cup is called ‘deja vu’ on X
What a match.
Well done Zimbabwe pic.twitter.com/KKVqx56EEE– Shailesh Pal (@palshailash55) 13 February 2026
Zimbabwe played very well #AUSvZIM #T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/ngkVZNxuYY
– Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) 13 February 2026
Extreme cricket between Zimbabwe and Australia. #ausvszim pic.twitter.com/tzRRqkqzZK
-Aditya (@adityacasm_) 13 February 2026
Australia in today’s match
Well played Zimbabwe #ausvszim pic.twitter.com/pXxtv3GHrg
– Memes Walla (@memeswalla_) 13 February 2026
Well done Zimbabwe, this is the standard of IPL hooligans
– Abdullah Khan (@isthatabdulla7) 13 February 2026
A statement victory from Zimbabwe!
To beat Australia by 23 runs shows real character. And of course, with a brilliant 4 wicket spell, the blessing proved to be a blessing in the truest sense.
What an exciting tournament this is shaping up to be!
– Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) 13 February 2026
The shorter the format, the lesser the difference/gap between the 2 teams.
That’s why this format is so exciting! Anybody can beat anybody on his day.
You rarely see this in longer formats, especially Tests. The playing field in T-20 is level. This is its real beauty. Well done Zimbabwe …-Shrivatsa Goswami (@Shrivatsa1) 13 February 2026
Also read: India reminded of old wounds of World Cup winner before clash with Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2026
