3 months ago
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Zimbabwe stand-in skipper Sikandar Raza described their stunning 23-run triumph implicit Australia arsenic "unbelievable", saying the culture, unity and situation built wrong the squad made the effect possible.
Zimbabwe shocked Australia successful their Group B clash of the T20 World Cup astatine the R Premadasa Stadium successful Colombo connected Friday (February 13, 2026), successfully defending 169/2 arsenic the heavyweights folded for 146 successful 19.3 overs.
"Very blessed and supra all, precise proud. Feeling of a member whose younger brothers are achieving a batch together," helium said astatine the post-match presentation.
Raza scored an unbeaten 25 disconnected 13 balls and opened the bowling, but a terrible limb cramp portion sending down the ninth implicit forced him disconnected the tract successful agony, leaving him to ticker from the dressing country arsenic his young broadside scraped location for a historical win.
"So it was bully to ticker from extracurricular and spot however the squad went astir their business, the culture, the environment, the unity that we person taken, that we person created implicit a agelong time. Just to spot it from outside, I was highly proud, and connected apical of that, a win. It's conscionable unbelievable.
"But the mode we came and the mode we bowled, the mode we started, the mode we fielded each catch, immoderate of the bound stops, it's conscionable unbelievable. I mean, there's thing to responsibility the boys for. It looked similar the boys wanted it, and I deliberation they truly did and they deserved to triumph today."
Fast bowlers Blessing Muzarabani (4/17) and Brad Evans (3/23) ripped done Australia's apical bid wrong 4 overs, dismissing Josh Inglis, Cameron Green, Tim David and Travis Head to acceptable up the victory.
Raza revealed helium battled cramps and is managing a bladed squad.
"In Sri Lanka, this is not the archetypal clip that's happened, but sometimes, conscionable the unit of the crippled and starring a side, the workload and everything, these things tin happen.
"But each I tin archer you is, these are conscionable cramps. I cognize implicit the adjacent time oregon 2 with bully recovery, it should beryllium fine." The triumph was much peculiar arsenic it came without their skipper Brendan Taylor who has been ruled retired of the tourney due to the fact that of a hamstring injury.
"We person conscionable 13 capable bodies close present and I went down and adjacent (Graeme) Cremer has a spot of a niggle. But I americium definite Zimbabwe Cricket is looking into the replacements due to the fact that successful these conditions, you request 15 capable bodies.
"The boys merit to bask today. If we support the aforesaid processes, and instrumentality it 1 crippled astatine a clip (it'll beryllium good). We are successful a large position, but it doesn't mean anything. So the adjacent crippled is present the astir important one," Raza added.
The effect threw Group B wide unfastened arsenic Zimbabwe are conscionable down leaders Sri Lanka connected nett run-rate, portion Australia slipped to third, leaving them successful must-win territory against Sri Lanka (February 16) and Oman (February 20).
Been determination before: Head looks astatine 2023 ODI WC blueprint
Stand-in Australia skipper Travis Head, however, said determination was nary request to panic, drafting parallels with their 2023 ODI World Cup triumph that began with back-to-back defeats.
"We've been determination before. I said astatine the toss, we saw it successful 2023 with a fewer defeats and injuries. We person a fewer guys present who were determination successful India successful 2023 and we'll look to navigate this concern and usage that blueprint." Explaining the determination to vessel first, Head said the aboveground appeared somewhat tacky but felt 170 was chaseable.
"We thought it's a bully wicket. A spot tacky astatine the commencement and we thought it would beryllium adjacent done the 2 innings. Even though we lone took 2 wickets, I thought they were a spot nether par.
"But we mislaid aboriginal wickets and came nether pressure. They played well. I inactive felt similar we'd person taken the people and were blessed to pursuit that.
"The feedback passim was that it was a bully wicket. We enactment ourselves nether unit by losing wickets. We recovered a concern successful the mediate but we near ourselves with excessively many." Injury concerns proceed to haunt Australia, with Mitchell Marsh sidelined owed to a groin issue, portion Tim David returned from a hamstring strain.
The gait onslaught is besides depleted, with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood unavailable — the archetypal clip since 2011 that Australia are featuring astatine a World Cup without Cummins, Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc together.
