Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, 38th Match, Group B, ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 - Commentary

Make no mistake, Zimbabwe have been the story of the 2026 T20 WC. Who'd have expected them to qualify from the group? Who'd have thought they'll actually go through unbeaten? As things stand, there've been only 4 unbeaten teams in this tournament and by the quirk of fate, they'll all find themselves battling for two semi-final slots from the same group. Zimbabwe have matches lined up against West Indies, India and then South Africa next. They enjoyed playing here in Sri Lanka, playing in India will be the next challenge. But don't go against them acing that challenge as well. On that note, it's curtains from RPS today. Canada are bowling first in the final rubber of the day. Change tabs and enjoy all the action. For now, cheers and bye..

Sikandar Raza | Zimbabwe captain - It can always get better. We can win the first game of the Super Eight - it always can get better. We keep our sights forward. But if I bring myself to the present, the effort the boys have shown over the last two weeks, I don’t think anybody gave us a chance to be where we are. So win people’s hearts and earn their respect, it’s a wonderful position to be in. (On losing the toss) When we lost the toss, all I said to my boys was: If we are truly playing good cricket, why should the toss play such a huge part in our mindset? If we’re playing good cricket, it is what it is. Also, because I bowled one of the last overs at the death, I told the boys that finger spinners weren’t finding much, but wrist spinners were getting a bit of turn. They had two or three finger spinners and one wrist spinner, so I felt we could put them under pressure. Apart from that, it was about how we went about our business. (Conceding runs at the death) Yes, they got a few too many runs in the end, but when I came into the change room, I told the boys that given the way they started, they were about 10 runs short and we should be able to win with an over to spare. We made it a little tougher for ourselves, but full credit to Tony and Benny for how they finished the game. I’m really happy. I think that’s because, firstly, we’ve trained for every situation. When you’re chasing, everything is on the board anyway. And we’ve got the right personnel to send in at the right time. (On the flexibility of the batting order) We actually changed our batting order about four times during the chase. At one stage, Dion was going to walk out - then that stopped. Then we sent Burl. If Burl had gone early, Dion would have walked out. Burley had a good partnership, then I ended up walking out, Dion was pushed back, and Musekiwa walked in. We take it one game at a time. We arrive on the 21st, train on the 22nd, and the training surface and a look at the wicket will give us a better idea. Then on the 23rd, it’s showtime. We’ll put our best foot forward, and what happens, happens. But just to get there unbeaten is something we can hold our heads high about. And if we can win two out of those three games, then you never know. As I keep saying - everybody loves an underdog story.

Dasun Shanaka | Sri Lanka Captain - We had a pretty good start, and to be honest, I think the score we put on was good enough to defend. There were a few patches (of the match) where we could have done slightly better, but overall I’ll take that score today. I’m really happy with the way Pathum (Nissanka) and Pawan (Ratnayake) played. I think it was a good total on this pitch (on the batting). The plan was simple, as usual (with the ball). Take wickets upfront. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get that start with the ball. It’s a bit tough with newcomers coming in; they need some time to settle as well. But no excuses. We could have done slightly better. Some of my decisions were a bit of a gamble too. It was one of those days where we could have done better with the ball, but again, no excuses. Qualification is always good to have, but every game we play, we want to do well for the country. Yes, we rested Chameera today, but as I said, no excuses. We did reasonably well in all three departments, but I still think we could have done better. I feel we need to be more confident on the field. That’s something we lacked today. Hopefully, we come back with a better attitude the next time we step onto the field (on the positives from the match).

Sikandar Raza | Player of the Match - When I walked out there, I thought the openers laid the foundation. And I think when Ryan Burl went out there as well, we tried to change the momentum. Unfortunately, he got out too. After the first eight balls, I said to myself, I’ve only got four or five runs, but I can see the ball, I’m middling the ball. So from then on, I backed myself that if I find a ball, I can middle it and hopefully it flies for the distance. And that’s all it was. Once I connected one, then it was a matter of just keeping going. In my head, I was calculating, trying not to over-attack. We needed one over of 20 (runs), which we got. After that, it was about going at nines, followed by eights, followed by sixes. Ideally, I wanted to finish the game, but we’ll take it. I kept saying to Benny (Brian Bennett) that if you find a ball, hit it for a boundary. Otherwise, it’s really important that you bat through. I felt like I’d let you down at the start, but I’m starting to find my rhythm, so just please hang in there. If you stay at one end, we can win the game from the other end. Credit to Benny, he keeps doing that role really well, and I think he’s going to get better and better with every game. I can’t wait to see this boy grow. I’m pretty excited about how Zimbabwe has gone about its business. Every time we’ve played a game, we’ve won, we’re unbeaten so far. For me, it’s always the next game that comes into my head. As much as I want to enjoy the victory and all that, my mind keeps drifting forward, and sometimes I struggle to bring myself back. But I think it’s a nice position to be in as a captain . I’ll try to enjoy tonight at least, but let’s see how it goes. it’s a nice position to be in as a captain. I’ll try to enjoy tonight at least, but let’s see how it goes.

Stats by Shashikant Singh

Sri Lanka at Colombo RPS in T20Is
Matches: 34
Won: 9
Lost: 25
Win%: 26.5

7 sixes in this innings is the most Zimbabwe hit in a T20 World Cup innings.

This is also the second-highest successful chase at Colombo RPS in T20Is, behind 215 runs chased by Bangladesh in the Nidahas Trophy in 2018.

This is also the second-highest successful chase against Sri Lanka in T20 WCs, after England’s 190 runs chase at Chattogram in the 2014 edition.

Highest target successfully chased by ZIM (T20Is)
199 vs NAM, Windhoek, 2023
179 vs SL, Colombo RPS, 2026 WC*
178 vs SCO, Edinburgh, 2021
174 vs SL, Colombo RPS, 2024
172 vs IRE, Bready, 2019

Zimbabwe's wins vs other FM teams at T20 WCs
vs AUS, Cape Town, 2007
vs IRE, Hobart, 2022
vs PAK, Perth, 2022
vs AUS, Colombo RPS, 2026
Vs SL, Colombo RPS, 2026*

Most 50-plus scores for ZIM in T20Is
17 - Sikandar Raza (125 inns)
12 - Brian Bennett (55 inns)*
12 - Sean Williams (84 inns)
11 - Hamilton Masakadza (66 inns)

Brian Bennett in T20 WC 2026
48* (36) vs OMAN
64* (56) vs AUS
63* (48) vs SL

18:30 Local Time, 13:00 GMT, 18:30 IST: The Zimbabwe supporters are up and dancing in the stands. Two years back in 2024, they'd lost to Uganda in the qualifiers and failed to make it to the T20 World Cup. They came through the same route this year as well and they've now aced some of the biggest names in T20 cricket. If you thought the win against Australia was a fluke, they've sent a message across by beating the co-hosts today. Both teams were already through to the Super Eights, but it's Zimbabwe who take the bragging rights with them. Brian Bennett once again anchored the chase with a 48-ball 63*, Marumani and Ryan Burl kept the chase on tracks with breezy knocks, but it was Sikandar Raza and his onslaught which decisively turned the game in Zimbabwe's favour. The skipper couldn't finish the game, but he'd done his bit by then. Sri Lanka are without a host of first-choice bowlers and the pitch did seem to play better under lights, but they'll be worried at the lack of cutting edge in their bowling and fielding. Presentations coming up shortly..

8 needed from 6 balls - this could suddenly be anyone's game now - it's Theekshana with the ball