Khettarama silenced, Zimbabwe undefeated

• “If we are playing good cricket, the toss doesn’t matter” – Raza*

Zimbabwe, the dark horses of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 silenced the co-hosts and their home crowd in Colombo yesterday (19) in a historic 6-wicket win beating Sri Lanka to top the table in Group-B as they went into Super 8’s in grand fashion. The Chevrons now shift their attention to India to play the rest of their games.

After collecting his award for the Player of the Match (POM), Zimbabwe’s skipper Sikandar Raza said, “If we are playing good cricket, the toss doesn’t matter.” His statement was a strong remark on the never give up attitude instilled in his team which defied all odds against them especially the Colombo venue being a paradise for teams batting first. It was a great underdog story on Thursday (19) as Zimbabwe chased their 2nd highest successful chase in T20Is.

At 40, Raza went onto become the oldest captain to win a POM award in T20 World Cup history and in the process became the highest winner of such awards out of which 13 have come in T20 WC or WC qualifier games.

Lankan skipper Dasun Shanaka won the toss and elected to bat first just like any sensible team would do knowing the conditions of the venue. Pathum Nissanka was the star man for Sri Lanka yet again with a sublime knock with the bat. He was instrumental in putting up a similar partnership just like he did with Pavan Rathnayake against Australia in this match too. Rathnayake added a valuable 44.

Chasing a very tough target against a traditionally super power opponent, the visitors were calm and practiced patience. The ‘chevrons’ mastered the art of batting in superlative fashion as they shell-shocked everyone watching on TV and live at the venue. Brian Bennet (63*) and Sikandar Raza (45) were simply outstanding, showing maturity when it mattered the most.

Sri Lanka tried to stage a short-lived comeback in the last gasp but it was  too little too late as the Lankan bowlers were clueless after being hammered all over the park. Maheesh Theekshana’s last over and his overall bowling was ultra-expensive giving away 47 runs in just 3.3 overs.

Brief scores

Sri Lanka 178/7 (20): Pathum Nissanka 62, Pavan Rathnayake 44, Graeme Cremer 2/27, Blessing Muzarabani 2/38, Brad Evans 2/35

Zimbabwe 182/4 (19.3): Brian Bennet 63*, Sikandar Raza 45, Tadiwanashe Marumani 34, Dushan Hemantha 2/36

Result: Zimbabwe won by 6 wickets (with 3 balls remaining)

Source - The Morning