ONE aspect about history is that it always repeats itself, and it did so in a beautiful way for Zimbabwe after the Chevrons stunned Australia by 23 runs in a Group B ICC Men’s T20 World Cup encounter played at the Premadasa Cricket Ground in Colombo, Sri Lanka, yesterday.
Zimbabwe totalled a competitive 169 for the loss of two wickets after skipper Sikandar Raza lost the toss and was put in to bat first.
Openers Tadiwanashe Marumani and Brian Bennett got the team off to a solid start, putting 61 runs on the board before Marumani fell for 35 runs off 21 deliveries.
Bennett, playing an anchor role as opposed to his usual explosive style, carried the bat till the end, unbeaten on 64 runs from 56 balls.
Keep Reading
- Lady Chevrons ICC Women's T20 WC qualifier schedule confirmed
- Chevrons fired up for T20 WC
- Lady Chevrons not getting carried away despite blistering run
- Lady Chevrons eye perfect record
In between the innings, Ryan Burl scored 35 off 30 balls before handing over the bat to Raza, who scored 25 not out from 13 balls.
“Very happy and above all, very proud.
“Feeling of a brother whose young brothers are achieving a lot together.
“The culture, environment, and unity we’ve created is amazing and on top of that, to win is unbelievable,” Raza said after the match.
“70-odd at 10 overs and I was happy, and we discussed that we don’t want to go for 190. We’ve seen in Sri Lanka that you can end up losing wickets if you go too hard too early.
“So we sent a message to Benny that he’s doing well and we’ll get a good score if he stays through.”
Australia captain Travis Head conceded defeat, congratulating Zimbabwe for putting up a good shift.
“They played well. I still felt like we’d have taken the score, and we were happy to chase it,” he said.
“The feedback throughout was that it was a good wicket.
“We put ourselves under pressure by losing wickets.
“We found a partnership in the middle, but we left ourselves with too many.”
Blessing Muzarabani was named player of the match.
He finished with four wickets for 17 runs, Zimbabwe’s best T20 World Cup bowling figures, replacing Luke Jongwe’s 4/18 against Pakistan at the T20 World Cup in 2021.
Zimbabwe recorded a five-wicket win against Australia at the 2007 inaugural T20 World Cup hosted in South Africa.
That history, backed by the team’s desire for an entertaining but fearless brand of cricket as ordered by head coach Justin Sammons, spurred the team on.
The hunger to fight and win was evident as early as the second over when towering seamer Muzarabani made a breakthrough.
Muzarabani, off his first ball, had Josh Inglis (8) caught at deep square by Tashinga Musekiwa, reducing Australia to 13/1 after 1.1 overs.
Australia were two wickets down after 2.5 overs, Cameron Green caught behind by wicketkeeper Marumani for a two-ball duck, leaving the scoreboard reading 24/2.
“And then the fielding, the catching, the boundary stopping looked like the boys really wanted it,” Raza said.
“The boys deserve to enjoy the win today, if we keep the same processes, and take it one game at a time it will be good.
“We are in a great position, but it doesn’t mean anything. So the next game is the most important one.”
Wickets continued to fall in quick succession, Muzarabani striking his second and Zimbabwe’s third on the second ball of his next over.
This time, he had Tim David caught by Graeme Cremer for a two-ball duck, and now the Aussies were in real danger on 25/3 after 3.2 overs.
Australia skipper Travis Head became his team’s fourth scalp, played on to his stumps off a Brad Evans delivery, leaving the team exposed on 29/4.
However, a defiant 77-run fifth wicket partnership between showman Glenn Maxwell and Matt Renshaw tilted the match to an equilibrium.
Maxwell was bowled out by Ryan Burl for 31 runs off 32 balls, bringing temporary relief to the Zimbabwean team.
His wicket left Australia on 106/5 after 14.2 overs.
Marcus Stoinis soon followed for six, caught by Musekiwa off Wellington Masakadza, who served a tied over to keep the Aussies under check.
Tony Munyonga announced himself to the grandstand with a stunning catch at the boundary to dismiss Ben Dwarshuis off an Evans delivery.
At 131/7 after 17.4 overs, the noise from the Zimbabwe faithful grew louder inside the stadium.
Zimbabwe played for the greater part of their total defence without skipper Raza, who picked up a niggle on the delivery run-up.
It was a tense moment, with the number of injured personnel in the squad, that Taylor had to put on his wicketkeeping pads, and assistant coach Dion Ebrahim putting on the Chevrons jersey, getting ready to field.
The wickets, however, continued to tumble, with Australia losing their ninth w, with Australia needing 29 runs off the last six balls, but it was not to be, as Zimbabwe grabbed their final wicket off an Evans run-out to bowl out Australia for 146 runs with three balls remaining.
Sports and Recreation Committee (SRC) commissioner and vice-chairperson Shingai Rushwaya Ruhwaya will be delighted with the result after she tipped the Chevrons to beat Australia again when she paid a courtesy call earlier in the week.
“We have history playing Australia in a T20, and it’s good history,” she said during the week.
“Upsetting victory in 2007, granted it was a different squad, a different city, but they carry the same Zimbabwean spirit, and we are really keen to see that shine through tomorrow against Australia.
“So, we are 100% behind them as a nation, 100% behind them as the SRC.”