Zimbabwe thrash Oman by eight wickets in T20 World Cup

Zimbabwe made a dominant start to their T20 World Cup campaign, cruising to an eight-wicket victory over Oman in their Group B opener on Monday at the Sinhalese Sports Club Ground in Colombo.

After winning the toss, Zimbabwe opted to field first, and their pace attack made full use of the conditions. Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans tore through Oman’s batting lineup as they were bowled out for just 103 in 19.5 overs.

Oman suffered a disastrous start to their innings. Muzarabani struck with the first ball of the second over, clean-bowling captain Jatinder Singh for 5. The pressure intensified in the following over when Ngarava dismissed experienced batter Hammad Mirza.

Muzarabani returned to remove veteran all-rounder Aamir Kaleem, who became the oldest player to feature in a T20 World Cup match at 44 years and 81 days. In the same over, Karan Sonavale was dismissed for a duck. Shortly after the powerplay, Sikandar Raza bowled Wasim Ali, leaving Oman reeling at 27 for 5.

Wicketkeeper-batter Vinayak Shukla and Sufyan Mehmood then offered some resistance, adding 42 runs for the sixth wicket—the highest partnership of the innings. Shukla scored 28 off 21 balls, hitting four boundaries, before falling to Ngarava, who dismissed Jiten Ramanandi in the same over to complete his three-wicket haul.

Sufyan scored 25 off 39 balls, while Nadeem Khan added a late 20 off 18. Brad Evans eventually wrapped up the tail as Oman were bowled out for 103.

For Zimbabwe, Muzarabani picked up 3 for 16, Ngarava took 3 for 17 and Evans claimed 3 for 18, with captain Sikandar Raza also taking a wicket.

Chasing a modest target, Zimbabwe never looked in trouble. Brian Bennett anchored the chase with an unbeaten 48 off 36 balls. Veteran Brendan Taylor retired hurt on 31 due to a hamstring injury, with just six runs required for victory. Zimbabwe eventually reached 106 for 2 in 13.3 overs to seal a comfortable win.