Brian Bennett, Blessing Muzarabani star in their 23-run victory
Colombo: Zimbabwe rode on collective brilliance to pull off the first big upset of the ongoing T20 World Cup, stunning injury-ravaged former champions Australia by 23 runs here on Friday.
This was only the second time that the African nation defeated the traditional heavyweights in the format, having last beaten them back in the 2007 edition of the showpiece.
Riding on opener Brian Bennett’s unbeaten 64 and useful contributions from other top-order batters, Zimbabwe posted a challenging 169 for 2 after Australia, who were without some of their front-line bowlers, invited them to bat.
The lower-ranked side then bowled Australia out for 146 in 19.3 overs on a sluggish pitch to register a famous win.
In the 2007 edition of the same tournament, Zimbabwe, then led by Prosper Utseya, had beaten Australia by five wickets with one ball to spare in a low-scoring match in Cape Town.
Pacer Blessing Muzarabani returned figures of 4/17, while Brad Evans (3/23), Wellington Masakadza (1/36) and Ryan Burl (1/9) also delivered with the ball for Zimbabwe.
Australia’s chase fell apart early as they slumped to 29 for 4 inside five overs, with Josh Inglis, Travis Head, Cameron Green and Tim David dismissed cheaply. Matt Renshaw (65 off 44) and Glenn Maxwell (31) rebuilt with a 77-run fifth-wicket stand, but Burl broke through to remove Maxwell at a crucial stage.
