🏏ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 :G B, M8: Zim vs Oman, at Colombo🏏 - Page 3

Quotes

"He is a great player, a great mentor to be around. I have played a lot of cricket with him together, during my early days. He is the one who is always ready for the challenge. And he is such a passionate guy. And you love his energy around the dressing room. So having him around us is a great, great boost for the team."

Jatinder Singh on the return of Aamir Kaleem

"Sri Lanka is a wonderful place to host the tournament. We love being here as well. Sri Lankan people, we have managed to turn them as fans and they'll be wishing and rooting for us wherever Zimbabwe goes and plays. So hopefully earn a lot more respect here and go home with our head held high."

Sikandar Raza is looking forward to playing in Sri Lanka

Thanks for the tag Madhu.

May the best team win.

Cheers..

Today at the SSC Ground, Zimbabwe and Oman are both playing their first game of the tournament, and the pressure is on to start with a win. Surprisingly, these two teams have never played an official T20 International against each other before, making this a fresh and unpredictable battle. Zimbabwe are back on the world stage after missing the last World Cup, and they have been in great form lately, winning all their qualifying matches in Africa.

However, Oman are no longer a small team; they have qualified for four World Cups now and actually beat Zimbabwe in a high-scoring warm-up match just a few days ago. While Zimbabwe relies on the experience of stars like Sikandar Raza and the pace of Blessing Muzarabani, Oman has a very settled squad that loves playing in these hot, spinning conditions. With bigger teams like Australia also in this group, neither side can afford a loss today.

Thanks for the tags

Best of luck to both the teams!

This World Cup has already delivered some spicy encounters. We came close to witnessing several major upsets, but they never quite tipped over the line. Whether it was the finest of margins, nerves fraying at the death, or a lack of experience when the pressure peaked, the favorites found ways to escape. A few different bounces of the ball and the tournament could already look very different. As for today, we have two sides that aren't very familiar with each other in this format. In fact, they have never met in an official T20I, but they did face off just four days ago in a warm-up game. Oman won that encounter, chasing down 188 with four wickets to spare. Oman's captain, Jatinder Singh, is counting on that psychological edge today. He believes it's the perfect time to double up against the Chevrons, even though Oman have only beaten a Full Member once in 16 previous attempts. There is no bigger stage than this for both teams to make a statement. A win here would provide a massive mental boost and a vital head start in a group where every point will be crucial for the permutations ahead.

Zimbabwe, meanwhile, have had a bit of a roller-coaster journey recently. Their T20 form has been concerning, particularly with a batting lineup that has struggled for consistency. However, they can take confidence from posting scores of 175+ in both their warm-up games here in Sri Lanka. Having missed out on the 2024 edition, Zimbabwe have a point to prove. Captain Sikandar Raza noted that Associate nations have closed the gap in T20 cricket, and he is focused on a steady transition for his side. Interestingly, Zimbabwe welcomed back a veteran presence: former captain and leg-spinner Graeme Cremer returns to the international stage after nearly seven years away. He's mentioned that his return is about helping the new generation so that the veterans leave Zimbabwe cricket in a better place. With both sides boasting plenty of variety in their bowling attacks, the spinners should enjoy themselves if the Colombo surface plays true to its traditional reputation.

Mustafa Moudi: "Madande, Maposa, Marumani, Masakadza, Munyonga, Musekiwa, Muzarabani and Myers - 8 Players from a Total of 15 Zimbabwean Players have their Last Name Starting with M. That's much more than J's in England !!"

Welcome to our live coverage of Match 8 of the T20 World Cup 2026! Today at the SSC Ground, Zimbabwe and Oman are both playing their first game of the tournament, and the pressure is on to start with a win. Surprisingly, these two teams have never played an official T20 International against each other before, making this a fresh and unpredictable battle. Zimbabwe are back on the world stage after missing the last World Cup, and they have been in great form lately, winning all their qualifying matches in Africa. However, Oman are no longer a small team; they have qualified for four World Cups now and actually beat Zimbabwe in a high-scoring warm-up match just a few days ago. While Zimbabwe relies on the experience of stars like Sikandar Raza and the pace of Blessing Muzarabani, Oman has a very settled squad that loves playing in these hot, spinning conditions. With bigger teams like Australia also in this group, neither side can afford a loss today. Stay tuned for the toss and official team updates coming up shortly!

Zimbabwe have won the toss and have opted to field

Playing XI

Zimbabwe XI: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani

Oman XI: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed