Colombo, February 9: Zimbabwe triumphed over Oman by 8 wickets in the eighth match of the T20 World Cup 2026, held at the Sinhalese Sports Club on Monday.
After losing the toss, Oman batted first but struggled, collapsing for just 103 runs in 19.5 overs. They lost their first wicket at a mere score of 7. Captain Jatinder Singh was dismissed for 5 runs, including one boundary, leading to a disastrous start where the team lost 5 wickets for just 27 runs.
Vinayak Shukla attempted to stabilize the innings, partnering with Sufyan Mehmood for a sixth-wicket stand of 42 runs off 43 balls. However, once this partnership was broken, Oman faltered again. Vinayak scored 28 runs off 21 balls with 4 fours, while Mehmood contributed 25 runs off 39 balls with 2 boundaries. Nadeem Khan added 20 runs to the total. For Zimbabwe, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, and Brad Evans each took 3 wickets, while Sikandar Raza claimed one.
In response, Zimbabwe chased down the target in just 13.3 overs. Opening batsmen Divanasha Marumani and Brian Bennett put together 30 runs in 3.1 overs. Marumani scored 21 runs off 11 balls, hitting 5 fours, before being dismissed. Dion Myers followed but fell for a duck on his second ball, leaving Zimbabwe at 30 for 2.
However, Brian Bennett partnered with Brendan Taylor to secure the win, adding 68 runs in 56 balls. Taylor scored 31 runs off 30 balls, including 3 fours, before retiring out, while Bennett remained unbeaten with 48 runs off 36 balls, featuring 7 fours.
Sufyan Mehmood took both wickets for Oman, conceding only 12 runs in 3 overs, but could not prevent the team’s heavy defeat.