Australia’s difficult run at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup continued as they went down to Zimbabwe in Colombo. Meanwhile, UAE beat Canada in a dramatic chase in New Delhi for their first win at the tournament. The final match of the day saw USA claim a dominant win over the Netherlands in Chennai, registering their first victory at the tournament.
USA claim a historic first
An all-round performance saw the USA claim a big win over the Netherlands to open their account at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The result saw them clinch what was their first-ever T20I triumph over the Dutch.
Defending 197, the USA to put early pressure on the Netherlands in their third outing. However, the USA struck twice again in quick succession to nab three wickets in the powerplay.
Nosthush Kenjige opened up the floodgates for the USA, striking off his first ball. Harmeet Singh then quickly doubled the advantage by getting the better of Max O’Dowd. Colin Ackermann then fell prey to the leading wicket-taker at the tournament, Shadley van Schalkwyk.
Harmeet Singh continued to shine with the ball as the spinner got the big wicket of Bas de Leede at the other side of the powerplay. The left-arm tweaker’s third breakthrough came in the form of the Dutch captain Scott Edwards.
He then went on to wrap up an impressive four-wicket haul by trapping Roelof van der Merwe LBW, finishing with bowling figures of 4/21. Equally supporting him with the ball, Van Schalkwyk, who nabbed a three-for, and Mohammad Mohsin, who seized a brace.
Earlier, the Netherlands captain Scott Edwards won the toss and elected to field first. USA responded with a hefty 53/1 in powerplay, their highest score in the first six overs in T20 World Cup matches.
The USA top order have come to the party, with the top three batters all contributing to the cause. Openers Shayan Jahangir (20) and captain Monank Patel (36) set the tone for USA, while Saiteja Mukkamalla kept the pedal to the metal.
Playing his first match of this World Cup, Mukkamalla carted the ball all round the park. During a 51-ball 76, the New Jersey-born batter struck five fours and four sixes, including a superb six over cover to bring up his half-century.
Shubham Ranjane then engineered the late charge, with a whirlwind 48 in 24, to lift USA to 196/6.
It was a difficult day in the field for the Netherlands, but Bas De Leede pulled things back a little with 3/37, including the crucial wickets of Patel and Mukkamalla.
UAE beat Canada in dramatic finish
UAE registered their first win of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 with a thrilling comeback win against Canada. Chasing a target of 151, UAE clawed back from 66/4 in 12.3 overs to push across the finish line with five wickets and two balls to spare.
Aryansh Sharma (74 not out) and Sohaib Khan (51) were the ones who brought UAE back from the brink with a 84-run partnership in just 43 balls.
After a slow start, Sharma made sure UAE ended powerplay on a positive note, scoring 17 runs in the sixth over to push his team to 39/1. He stood tall amidst the chaos, chipping away at the Canadian total to keep his team in the running. He struck six fours and three sixes on the way to the highest score by a UAE player in the T20 World Cup.
It was Sohaib Khan’s 51 off 29 balls that galvanized the team. With four fours and four sixes, he took the attack to the Canadian bowlers just when they were starting to tighten the screws. UAE scored 56 runs in the last four overs to storm to the finish line.
Saad Bin Zafar was the pick of the Canadian bowlers, snapping 3/14 in his four overs.
Earlier in the day, Canada laboured to 150/7 after electing to bat.
UAE pacer Junaid Siddique pushed Canada on the back foot right away, dismissing openers Bajwa and Samra. Muhammad Jawadullah made the perfect start as he claimed the wicket of Nicholas Kirton on the very first ball of his spell as Canada ended powerplay at 39/3.
Navneet Dhaliwal and Harsh Thaker steadied the innings with a 58-run partnership. Thaker was the one that held down the fort for Canada, scoring 51 off 40 balls, with the help of three sixes and two fours. Dhaliwal contributed with 34 while Shreyas Movva chipped in with 21.
Siddique was the pick of the UAE bowlers, claiming 5/35, a first fifer for a UAE bowler in the T20 World Cup.
Zimbabwe stun former champions Australia
Zimbabwe scripted the biggest upset of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 so far, as they defeated Australia by 23 runs in Colombo on Friday. The African team revived memories of the upset win in 2007, when they beat Australia by five wickets in the T20 World Cup.
Unbeaten in the tournament, they are second in Group B standings while Australia have slipped to three. Only top two players from each group will progress to the Super 8 stage.
Australia won the toss and elected to field, but little went their way after that. In an assured batting performance, posted 169/2 in 20 overs, their highest score against Australia in T20Is. Zimbabwe’s previous best against Australia was 151/9 in Harare in July 2018.
They carried on the momentum in the field, reducing Australia to 29/4 inside the first five overs.
Glenn Maxwell (31) and Matt Renshaw (65) helped Australia steady the ship. While Maxwell’s repeated attempts at breaking free reaped little reward, Renshaw steadily helped Australia pick up the pace during a mature innings of 64 off 44.
The 77-run stand for the fifth wicket came to an end after Maxwell dragged on a fullish delivery by Ryan Burl onto the stumps. His wicket led to the lower-order collapse, as Australia slipped from 106/5 to 146 all out.
Zimbabwe were rewarded for their disciplined bowling. Zimbabwe pacers Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans razed the Aussie top order, then returned to deliver the knockout blow. Muzarabani finished with 4/17, the best bowling figures by a Zimbabwe player at a men’s T20 World Cup and the best figures for Zimbabwe against a full member team. His pace partner Evans claimed 3/23 in 3.3 overs.
Their commitment in the field was epitomised by Tony Munyonga diving catch to send back Ben Dwarshuis.
The Zimbabwe top order was in great nick and gave the team just the positive start they needed, motoring to 47/0 in powerplay. While Tadiwanashe Marumani (35) and Brian Bennett led the charge with a 61-run opening partnership, Bennett combined with Ryan Burl (35) to score 70 runs for the second wicket.
Playing more of an anchor role, Bennett scored an unbeaten 64 off 56 balls. Captain Sikandar Raza chipped in with a crucial 25 off 13 balls, and hit the only six of the match, which came off the final ball of the innings.
With the Zimbabwe batters taking on the challenge, Australia tried out seven bowlers in the first 10 overs. Marcus Stoinis provided Australia with the breakthrough, getting a nick off Marumani that was caught behind. Cameron Green was the only other bowler amongs wickets, while the rest were put to the sword by Zimbabwe batters.
The defeat is another setback for an Australian team that has been left reeling with injuries and fitness issues before and during the World Cup.
