Monday 09 / February / 2026
COLOMBO: Oman endured a disappointing start to their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, going down to Zimbabwe by eight wickets in their Group B match at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Monday.
After being bundled out for 103, courtesy of a relentless pace display from Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava and Brad Evans, Oman never truly recovered as Sikandar Raza’s men cruised to 106-2 in just 13.3 overs, sealing victory with 39 balls to spare.
Chasing a modest target of 104, Zimbabwe began briskly. Brian Bennett anchored the innings with an unbeaten 48, while Tadiwanashe Marumani (21) provided early impetus as the pair raced to 30 inside three overs.
Oman briefly threatened a fightback when Sufyan Mehmood struck twice in an over, dismissing Marumani and Dion Myers to spark a glimmer of hope.
However, with little scoreboard pressure, the experienced Brendan Taylor joined Bennett to steady the chase. The duo added 68 runs before Taylor retired hurt on 31 off 30 balls. Raza then partnered Bennett to complete the formalities as Zimbabwe wrapped up a comfortable win.
Earlier, Oman’s innings had unravelled under a blazing Colombo sun, losing four wickets inside the first four overs to derail any hopes of building on their warm-up win over Zimbabwe last week.
With a gentle breeze aiding movement, Zimbabwe’s new-ball pair of Muzarabani and Ngarava, later supported by Evans, exploited the conditions superbly. The pace trio shared nine wickets between them, claiming three apiece as Oman were dismissed for 103 in 19.5 overs.
The towering Muzarabani struck early, breaching the defence of Oman skipper Jatinder Singh with a searing delivery that crashed through the gate. Jatinder had shown early promise with a boundary off Ngarava in the opening over, but his dismissal triggered the slide.
Ngarava soon tightened the screws. In his second over, he induced a mistimed pull from Hammad Mirza that was gloved behind, completing a wicket maiden, the only runs coming via leg byes. Oman were immediately on the back foot with runs hard to come by.
The decisive blow came in Muzarabani’s fourth over. He removed Aamir Kaleem and Karan Sonavale within three deliveries to leave Oman reeling at 17-4. Kaleem, who had earlier struck a crisp boundary, sliced one to deep third man, while Sonavale’s attempted pull resulted in a faint edge behind.
At that stage, Oman were staring at a major rebuild.
Sufyan Mehmood and Wasim Ali guided Oman to 24-4 at the end of the powerplay, but the scoring rate remained sluggish.
Zimbabwe captain Raza introduced himself into the attack and struck immediately, cleaning up Wasim Ali with a sharp arm ball.
With boundaries at a premium, Vinayak Shukla joined Mehmood in a cautious rebuilding effort. The pair mixed restraint with selective aggression to restore some stability.
Momentum briefly shifted in the 12th over when they targeted off-spinner Brian Bennett, plundering 17 runs, the most productive over of the innings. Shukla struck three boundaries in that over, while Mehmood added one of his own.
At 69-4 in the 14th over, Shukla (28 off 22, four fours) and Mehmood (22 off 33) had put on a 42-run stand, offering Oman a flicker of recovery.
However, the second drinks break disrupted their rhythm. Ngarava returned and struck with the first ball after the resumption, inducing an edge from Shukla that Brendan Taylor collected with a sharp diving catch to his right, his third dismissal behind the stumps.
Ngarava compounded Oman’s misery by dismissing Jiten Ramanandi off the final ball of the 15th over, reducing them to 71-7 and placing even the 100-run mark in doubt.
Mehmood attempted to accelerate but fell in the 17th over, his pull off Evans finding the square-leg sweeper. His fighting 25 off 39 deliveries ended with Oman struggling at 85-8, underlining Zimbabwe’s pace dominance.
A late cameo from Nadeem Khan provided brief resistance. He struck the first six of the innings in the penultimate over off Ngarava in a final push for respectability. Evans ensured it remained a pacers’ day out by bowling Shakeel Ahmed with the first ball of the final over.
A streaky boundary from Faisal Shah nudged Oman past the 100-run mark before Bennett produced a sensational catch to dismiss Nadeem for 20 off 18 balls.
Oman eventually limped to 103, a modest total that reflected Zimbabwe’s disciplined and incisive bowling on a surface that offered early assistance.
Brief scores:
Oman 103 in 19.5 overs (Vinayak Shukla 28, Sufyan Mehmood 25, Nadeem Khan 20; Blessing Muzarabani 3/16, Richard Ngarava 3/17, Brad Evans 3/18) lost to Zimbabwe 106-2 in 13.3 overs (Brian Bennett 48*, Tadiwanashe Marumani 21, Brendan Taylor 31 retd hurt; Sufyan Mehmood 2/12).
