Colombo, Feb 19 (IANS) Zimbabwe finished unbeaten in Group B of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a clinical six-wicket victory over Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Thursday.

Chasing 179, Zimbabwe laid a strong foundation through an opening stand of 68 between Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani. Marumani struck 34 off 26 balls, while Bennett anchored the innings with maturity after an early reprieve. Zimbabwe reached 78/1 at the halfway mark, keeping the required rate under control.

Ryan Burl added momentum with a brisk 23 before skipper Sikandar Raza turned the match decisively in Zimbabwe’s favour. Raza smashed 45 off 26 balls, including four sixes, forming a crucial partnership with Bennett and shifting the pressure onto Sri Lanka. Zimbabwe collected 46 runs between the 15th and 17th overs to take control of the chase.

Although Sri Lanka struck twice late, Bennett held firm, finishing unbeaten on 59 off 47 balls and sealing the win with a boundary in the final over. Earlier, Sri Lanka posted 178/7, with Pathum Nissanka scoring 62. Zimbabwe’s disciplined bowling ensured the target remained achievable as they completed their second-highest successful T20I chase and topped Group B unbeaten.

Here’s a look at all the key stats from the Zimbabwe vs Sri Lanka match

4 – Sri Lankan bowlers have taken the fewest wickets, four, in the powerplay of this T20 World Cup, averaging 51.5, which is the lowest among the Super 8 teams.

1395 – Zimbabwe’s opening pair, T Marumani and Brian Bennett, holds the record for the most successful opening partnership in T20Is with 1395 runs among them.

11 – Brian Bennett has scored 11 half-centuries in T20Is, including two consecutive fifties. Prior to this, he scored an unbeaten 64 against Australia in Colombo. In the current T20 WC, he was not dismissed.

19 – It is the number of half-centuries scored by Sri Lankan opener Pathun Nissanka (62) in T20Is. It was his 6th in 22 T20 WC matches.

179 – In this match, Zimbabwe successfully chased 179 runs against Sri Lanka, marking their second-largest successful chase in T20Is. Previously, in 2023, they successfully chased 199 runs versus Namibia at Windhoek.

4 – Sri Lanka is now the fourth full-member team to have been defeated by Zimbabwe in the T20 WCs. Australia, Pakistan, and Ireland are the other three. Australia suffered 2 defeats at the hands of Zimbabwe in the T20 WCs, first in Cape Town in 2007 and second in Colombo in 2026.

–IANS

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