Sikandar Raza’s Zimbabwe team began their journey at the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on Monday with a largely comfortable victory over Oman in Colombo.
During the ZIM vs OMN match, Zimbabwe’s tidy bowling performance was backed up by a clinical fielding show from the fielders, one of whom, Brian Bennett, stood out with a spectacular flying catch that many have hailed could end up being the catch of the tournament!
Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza won the toss and elected to bowl first at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, on Monday afternoon for the ZIM vs OMN match in Group B.
The Zimbabwe bowlers were on the money from the onset of Oman’s innings. Although Colombo is generally associated with spin-friendly pitches, it was the potent pace trio of Zimbabwe comprising Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, and Brad Evans that did the most damage to Oman’s batting lineup.
All three fast bowlers bagged a three-wicket haul each, while the remaining one wicket went to captain Raza as Oman were bundled out for only 103 runs in 19.5 overs.
The last wicket to fall, that of tailender Nadeem Khan, came through a sensational piece of fielding effort from Bennett at the legside boundary.
Evans bowled a slower ball short of length to Nadeem, who jumped down the pitch and aimed for a boundary on the leg side through his wild slog. The connection wasn’t great from the tailender; it seems that the ball would land between deep mid-wicket and long-on.
However, Brian Bennett, sprinting from deep mid-wicket, judged the flight of the ball perfectly and put in a dive at the very last moment possible for his effort to become successful. Bennett managed to get both of his hands under the ball and grab it.
Despite the ball’s momentum being at a right angle to his own momentum, and despite his falling on the ground, Bennett kept a tight hold on the ball, not even allowing it to pop up from his hands. The commentators erupted in disbelief as Bennett pulled off one of the great T20 World Cup catches.
ZIM vs OMN: Zimbabwe’s Brian Bennett Takes Catch Of The Tournament, VIDEO
In the chase, Zimbabwe cantered towards the target of 104 runs, achieving it in 13.3 overs with eight wickets in hand. That they chased down the target with six-and-a-half overs remaining boosted their net run rate to +2.702, giving the same margin of dent to Oman’s NRR.
Can Zimbabwe qualify for the Super 8 round?
Although Australia and Sri Lanka are firm favorites to proceed to the next round from Group B, Zimbabwe will not be easy pushovers, having upset Pakistan in the 2022 T20 World Cup. Zimbabwe can believe that a victory over either Australia or Sri Lanka, plus with Ireland left to face, their chances of advancing to the Super 8 round are healthier than many would give them.
When is Zimbabwe’s next match in the ICC T20 World Cup?
Zimbabwe’s next match is against Mitchell Marsh’s Australia on February 13 at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
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