🏏 ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, Zim vs Ireland 32nd match 🏏 - Page 6

Can sides like Zimbabwe keep their spirit in the next round? It can spark a good debate, actually. One of the reasons that teams outside the top 10 of the ICC rankings are called minnows is their inability to play good cricket for a long period of time. Yes, Zimbabwe have defeated Australia and have a good record against Sri Lanka in the recent past as well - but can they carry this momentum into their next group, which consists of India, West Indies and South Africa? Your guess is as good as ours. Some experts might argue that if a 'minnow' makes it to the Super Eight, it becomes a bit easy for the other teams as each will fancy a win over the new entrant. It is an argument, it is a debate and can be settled only by a performance in the field.

Worry and joy - The camera pans onto the Irish dressing room first and then the fans. The Irish look very sombre, as anyone would be, in a race against time. A couple of players can be seen identifying probably a few patchy areas on the outfield. Slim chance, but Ireland would like to go out after playing, not because of a washout. Looking at the fans, they don't care. It is a large contingent of red and yellow jerseys. If play happens, they can watch their team play. If it doesn't, their team goes through to the next stage! A perfectly win-win situation.

Nibraz Ramzan: "Heavy drizzle in Kandy since morning… every drop steadily washing away Australia's faint hopes."

Henry: "As an Englishman, born of proud Irish stock I am now in the horrible position of wanting Zimbabwe to win just to get Australia firmly out of the tournament. Cricket is cruel. " -- The things sport makes you do...

Exactly, I want Zimbabwe to go through and I'm not even English

17:10 Local Time, 11:40 GMT, 17:10 IST: Some activity in the back-end and quite a few covers have been removed. The head curator is chatting with the umpires, but they're all huddled under the umbrella. It only means that the drizzle hasn't stopped completely

5:19pm The situation may be grim in rain terms, but the Zimbabwe fans seem to be enjoying themselves in the stands. And why wouldn't they. They are within touching distance of the Super Eight.

Don’t think the match is happening. Rain doesn’t seem to be letting up in Pallekele

It is about focussing ahead now - A few hours before the scheduled match start, Natalie Germanos managed to grab a quick byte from Zimbabwean seamer Blessing Muzarabani. On the repeated question of how does it feel on beating Australia, Muzarabani says that it feels good and winning against Australia goes pretty deep

Adds that the Aussies are one of the world's best for a reason. But quickly says that he is happy that the players didn't go overboard with the celebration and now, it is about focusing ahead. On his success so far in this edition, Blessing says that the conditions have been helping him adjust to the wicket. Details that in the first match, it was the bounce, while the second was different but says that he felt that he adjusted to the conditions.

On his pitch expectations from today, BM says that he was watching the game yesterday (Sri Lanka vs Australia) but will only be able to assess once he starts bowling on this pitch. Asked about the T20 format, Blessing Muzarabani says that as a bowler, you need to stick to your processes and hope that the results come your way. On Zimbabwe's plans for a shortened game, Muzarabani says that what's important is to get over the line. Stresses that just getting the win is Zimbabwe's focus at the moment.

Australia Out Of T20 World Cup Super 8 Race After Loss Against Sri Lanka? Scenarios Explained

Australia's dreams of reaching the T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eight stage were dealt a massive blow following the 8-wicket loss against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Monday.

Australia's dreams of reaching the T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eight stage were dealt a massive blow following the 8-wicket loss against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Monday. It was Australia's second defeat in the competition after their loss against Zimbabwe. As a result, Australia are currently third in the Group B points table with just 2 points from 3 matches with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of +0.414.

In order to qualify, Australia will have to win their remaining match against Oman and depend on other results. If Zimbabwe win any one of their remaining games against Sri Lanka or Ireland, they will reach 6 points and knock Australia out of the competition.

However, if Zimbabwe lose both of their matches and Australia win their game against Oman, both the Aussies and Ireland will have 4 points from 4 matches. In that case, Australia's qualification to the Super Eight stage will completely depend on NRR.

After last night's result, the maximum amount of points Australia can get is 4 points or 2 wins.

The remaining group B matches are:

• Ireland vs Zimbabwe (17 Feb)

• Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe (19 Feb)

• Australia vs Oman (21 Feb)

For Australia to qualify unfortunately depends on Ireland and Sri Lanka to defeat Zimbabwe.

Ireland and Zimbabwe will also end up on 4 points each after those 2 matches.

Also the bigger the defeat to Zimbabwe, the better the chance of Australia qualifying.

Australia needs to beat Oman quite convincingly. Luckily it is the last group match so they know how much to win by. Obviously it doesn't matter if Zimbabwe wins won of the matches.

Before the World Cup started, former Indian allrounder R Ashwin had sent a warning to the ICC that by keeping matches such as India and USA as the opening fixture for the home team, you are taking a huge risk with fans most likely to opt out of that one-sided fixture. The proof is in the pudding. Did the crowd turn up? Of course, it did, in large numbers. Was it one-sided? Well, the result was. But for the first half of that match, we can vouch that the States proved their fighting spirit. At the end of the day, the better team will win. Zimbabwe have defeated Australia by merit, not by chance. So if they can beat a champion side, they will believe they can beat others too. But if they don't get a chance, how will they even prove themselves?

That's why the T20 World Cups are so exciting. In the 2023 ODI World Cup, Australia lost their first two matches to India and South Africa. But with time on their side, they managed to regroup and recover. Come the T20 format, the Aussies have lost two matches and are on the brink of elimination. That's how it should be at the global stage. Not on your watch, then you might have to bid goodbye!

The Zimbabwean supporters continue to make merry in the rain. They've enjoyed their time in Sri Lanka and will look to back their team going into the Super 8s with possible matches in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

Australia Out Of T20 World Cup Super 8 Race After Loss Against Sri Lanka? Scenarios Explained

Australia's dreams of reaching the T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eight stage were dealt a massive blow following the 8-wicket loss against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Monday.

Australia's dreams of reaching the T20 World Cup 2026 Super Eight stage were dealt a massive blow following the 8-wicket loss against Sri Lanka in Pallekele on Monday. It was Australia's second defeat in the competition after their loss against Zimbabwe. As a result, Australia are currently third in the Group B points table with just 2 points from 3 matches with a Net Run Rate (NRR) of +0.414.

In order to qualify, Australia will have to win their remaining match against Oman and depend on other results. If Zimbabwe win any one of their remaining games against Sri Lanka or Ireland, they will reach 6 points and knock Australia out of the competition.

However, if Zimbabwe lose both of their matches and Australia win their game against Oman, both the Aussies and Ireland will have 4 points from 4 matches. In that case, Australia's qualification to the Super Eight stage will completely depend on NRR.

After last night's result, the maximum amount of points Australia can get is 4 points or 2 wins.

The remaining group B matches are:

• Ireland vs Zimbabwe (17 Feb)

• Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe (19 Feb)

• Australia vs Oman (21 Feb)

For Australia to qualify unfortunately depends on Ireland and Sri Lanka to defeat Zimbabwe.

Ireland and Zimbabwe will also end up on 4 points each after those 2 matches.

Also the bigger the defeat to Zimbabwe, the better the chance of Australia qualifying.

Australia needs to beat Oman quite convincingly. Luckily it is the last group match so they know how much to win by. Obviously it doesn't matter if Zimbabwe wins won of the matches.

What happens if today’s match is washed out ? A point apiece is shared between the teams. Win, loose or draw, Australia has gone out of this tournament for good!

Zimbabwe through to the Tasman? Huh? Well, let's give you some context. 'So qualifying for the Super 8 means automatic qualification for the next World Cup?', pips my colleague. The question has been framed keeping Zimbabwe in mind and actually, he is right.

These are the scenarios of direct qualification for a T20 World Cup - 1. The host nation (s). 2. Teams that qualified for the Super 8 stage of previous edition. 3. Three additional spots based on ICC team rankings upto a specific date, roughly 2 years prior.

So given that the next edition of the T20 World Cup is slated to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the Trans-Tasman rivals qualify directly.

But so do Zimbabwe, (assuming that they are in the Super 8 now), without needing to have to play any Qualifiers! Massive achievement. Yeah, we might be counting our chickens even before they have hatched but it does seem that the Lap Of The Gods is seeming to favour the Chevrons at this stage.