An upset delivered with dominance

On paper, Zimbabwe beating Australia in any format is usually considered a shock. But in  Friday's T20 World Cup group-stage clash in Colombo, the African side’s 23-run victory over the 2021 champions never looked like a contest between the world’s second-ranked team and the side placed 11th. Despite the huge gap in rankings, Zimbabwe dominated throughout, losing just two wickets on their way to setting a 170-run target, before bundling out Australia for 146 in 19.3 overs to register the biggest shock of the tournament so far.

** Zimbabwe are the only team with a 100 percent win record against Australia in T20 World Cups, having won both encounters so far -- including their victory in the inaugural 2007 edition.

** This was also the fifth instance of Zimbabwe beating Australia in any format, with the other three victories coming in ODIs.

** It marked Zimbabwe’s fourth win over a Full Member side in T20 World Cups -- two against Australia and one each against Pakistan (Perth, 2022) and Ireland (Hobart, 2022).

** Player-of-the-match Blessing Muzarabani registered career-best figures of 4/17 -- also the best bowling figures by a Zimbabwean in a T20 World Cup match. It is also the second-best bowling figures against Australia in the tournament’s history, behind Ravichandran Ashwin’s 4-11 in Mirpur in 2014.

** Ryan Burl, with the catch of Matt Renshaw, broke the record for most catches (54) by a Zimbabwe fielder in T20Is, surpassing Sikandar Raza’s 53.

** With two wins from two matches, Zimbabwe are second in Group B, just behind co-hosts Sri Lanka, who have also won both of their games. Zimbabwe are now on the verge of qualifying for the Super Eight stage, while Australia -- third in the table with one win from two matches -- must defeat both Sri Lanka and Oman in Pallekele to ensure safe passage to the next phase.

"It is a huge win for us. There are fans who have come all the way from Zimbabwe and they have enjoyed the game and it is a special feeling today to get a win here." -- Zimbabwe opener Brian Bennett, who scored 64 not out