T20 World Cup warm-up: Kaleem powers Oman; Zimbabwe down Netherlands
Oman rode on the back of 44-year old Aamer Kaleem's 47-ball 80 to record a 5-wicket win over Sri Lanka A in their T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up fixture at the Colombo Cricket Ground. Sri Lanka A found the going tough after electing to bat , even as opener Dulnith Selgara got them off to a breezy start with a 14-ball 20. Oman's bowlers then chipped away at regular intervals and it was Chamindu Wickramasinghe's unbeaten late blitz of 24 that took Sri Lanka A to 145/9. Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed and Jay Odedra bagged two wickets apiece to headline a disciplined bowling effort by Oman.
In response, Oman lost wickets at regular intervals with none of the top five outside Kaleem recording double-figures as left-arm spinner Wanuja Sahan (3/22) wreaked havoc. The southpaw, who opened the innings, struck 8 fours and 3 sixes and was the glue that held a tricky chase together. He found able support in the form of wicket-keeper Vinayak Shukla, who struck an unbeaten 39 that saw his team home with two overs to spare.
Brief Scores: Sri Lanka A 145/9 in 20 overs (Wanuja Sahan 29, Chamindu Wickramasinghe 24*, Jay Odedra 2-18, Shah Faisal 2-21) lost to Oman 146/5 in 18 overs (Aamer Kaleem 80, Vinayak Shukla 39*, Wanuja Sahan 3-16, Kavija Gamage 1-9) by 5 wickets.
Zimbabwe marked their return to the T20 World Cup stage with a clinical all-round performance in their first warm-up fixture against Netherlands at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, recording a 29-run win. Having opted to bat first upon winning the toss, Zimbabwe relied on Dion Myers's blazing 14-ball 32 and Ryan Burl's unbeaten 50 off 31 balls to post a competitive total of 178/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Handy cameos from Brad Evans (15) and Tony Munyonga (17) played its part in catapulting the score close to the 180-mark, even as Logan van Beek bagged a three-fer for the Dutch.
In response, Netherlands never got going in their chase with left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava wreaking havoc in the very first over as he removed both Max O'Dowd and Bas de Leede for ducks. Having lost two more wickets inside the PowerPlay, there was no way back for Netherlands despite skipper Scott Edwards (26) getting a start. Van Beek, however, warmed up with a few late hits even as it went in vain in the context of the eventual outcome. For Zimbabwe, Ngarava finished with three wickets to his credit while spinners Graeme Cremer and Wellington Masakadza chipped in with two wickets apiece to tune up for the World Cup in style.
Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 178/9 in 20 overs (Ryan Burl 50*, Dion Myers 32, Logan van Beek 3-22, Colin Ackermann 1-13) beat Netherlands 149 in 20 overs (Logan van Beek 40*, Scott Edwards 26, Richard Ngarava 3-11, Graeme Cremer 2-15) by 29 runs
The final warmup fixture of Tuesday saw Nepal record a comfortable seven-wicket victory over UAE at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Asked to bat first, UAE found themselves in disarray at 66/5 as Karan KC and Sandeep Lamicchane snared two wickets apiece to put Nepal on top. It took a sixth-wicket partnership of 68 between Harshit Kaushik (35) and Shoaib Khan (38*) to bail UAE out as they finished with a total of 145/6.
Nepal were rocked early in their chase as Kushal Bhurtel perished in the second over before two run outs followed in the form of Aasif Sheikh and skipper Rohit Paudel. But Dipendra Singh Airee (50*) and Aarif Sheikh (61*) imposed themselves on the bowlers, rollicking along to register half-centuries en route to an unbeaten partnership of 103. Once they got themselves in, Nepal coasted to the target with as many as three overs to spare, with only Muhammad Rohid Khan covering himself in some glory among the UAE bowlers, as he returned 1/13 off two overs.
Brief Scores: UAE 145/6 in 20 overs (Shoaib Khan 38*, Harshit Kaushik 35, Sandeep Lamichhane 2-24, Karan KC 2-26) lost to Nepal 148/3 in 17 overs (Aarif Sheikh 61*, Dipendra Singh Airee 50*, Muhammad Rohid Khan 1-13) by 7 wickets.
