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The cricketing fraternity, including legends Sachin Tendulkar, Ravichandran Ashwin and South African icon Dale Steyn, took to social media on Friday, lauding Zimbabwe for beating Australia by 23 runs and serving the T20 World Cup's first big upset.
Courtesy of a fine fifty from Brian Bennett and excellent spells from Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans, Zimbabwe repeated their heroics of the 2007 T20 WC against Australia, keeping their win percentage at 100 per cent against the 2021 champions in the marquee tournament. With this win, their second, they have presented themselves as genuine contenders for the Super Eight stage, with two matches against Sri Lanka and Ireland to go in the league stage. Sachin posted on X how winning against Australia takes "real character" and hailed pacer Muzarabani for his four-fer. "A statement win from Zimbabwe! Beating Australia by 23 runs takes real character. And of course, Blessing turned out to be just that, a blessing in the truest sense, with a superb 4 wicket spell. What an exciting tournament this is shaping up to be!," posted Sachin on X. https://x.com/sachin_rt/status/2022242305202405760 Legendary spinner Ashwin took to X, delighted with Tony Munyongya's fielding and "balanced pitches" in this WC. "This is clinical from Zim. Batting and bowling have been great but Tony Munyonga's fielding has piled on the pressure. He has saved at least 12-15 runs and closes the deal with a spectacular catch at deep midwicket." "When the ground sizes are proper, cricketing skills truly come to the fore giving a chance for all facets of the game. Really liked how the pitches have been really balanced this T 20 World Cup. #T20WorldCup2026," said Ashwin's post. https://x.com/ashwinravi99/status/2022234050036166691 Steyn simply hailed Zimbabwe by posting its flag on X. https://x.com/DaleSteyn62/status/2022235972960977367 Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan also lauded Zimbabwe's catching, with a fine catch from Munyonga to remove all-rounder Ben Dwarshius being a highlight of this match. "Zimbabwe is surely winning the best catches of the World Cup award. In the last game Brian Bennett's catch was marvellous. In this game vs Australia, MUNYONGA's catch was equally good," posted Pathan on X. https://x.com/IrfanPathan/status/2022233713447522582 Mohammed Kaif, the former Indian batter, also hailed Zimbabwe but questioned Australia's decision to field first on a slow wicket during a day game, pointing out that "lesser teams" upset big nations by batting first most of the time. "What a win for Zimbabwe. What catches, what spirit. But one thing is puzzling: Why did Australia chose to field in a day game on a slow pitch? History shows lesser teams upset big ones when they bat first, almost 90 per cent of times. #T20WorldCup2026," posted Kaif on X. https://x.com/MohammadKaif/status/2022254601920237759 Coming to Zimbabwe's T20 World Cup campaign, they have got off to a fine start with two wins in two matches, with four points, with wins over Oman and, on Friday, a stunning victory over Australia. Australia elected to field first, and Zimbabwe started off well with a 61-run partnership between Tadiwanashe Marumani (35 in 21 balls, with seven fours) and Brian Bennett. Later on, a 70-run stand between Bennett (64 in 56 balls, with seven fours) and Ryan Burl (35 in 30 balls, with four boundaries) and skipper Sikandar Raza's cameo of 25* in 13 balls, with two fours and a six, took Zimbabwe to 169/2 in 20 overs, with Marcus Stoinis and Cam Green getting a wicket each. In the run-chase of 170 runs, Australia lost their first four wickets for just 29 runs, but a 77-run stand between Glenn Maxwell (31 in 32 balls, with a four and a six) and Matt Renshaw (65 in 44 balls, with seven fours and a six) brought Australia back in the hunt. However, Zimbabwe bowlers kept chipping away with regular wickets and bundled out Australia for 146 in 19.3 overs. Blessing Muzarabani (4/17 in four overs) and Brad Evans (3/23) were amongst the top bowlers for Zimbabwe, with Muzarabani getting home the 'Player of the Match' award. (ANI).
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