Sports
Zampa leads the way as bowlers seal T20I series win for Australia
Adam Zampa picked four while rest of the Australia bowlers all chipped away with wickets to down New Zealand comprehensively in the second T20I and complete a series win for the visitors. After a high-scoring, final-ball thriller in Wellington, bowlers took centre stage in Auckland to deliver a 2-0 lead for Mitchell Marsh’s side.
Australia didn’t feel the absence of David Warner, who was rested, as Travis Head and Steve Smith flew off the blocks after New Zealand opted to bowl. Trent Boult was welcomed back to action with a 20-run first over where Head smashed two sixes and two fours. Steve Smith went after Adam Milne in the second as Australia began on the fifth gear.
Lockie Ferguson pulled it back, with two overs for just 7 runs in the PowerPlay but Boult was then taken for 16 in the sixth. Ben Sears clipped Head’s wings in the seventh over, dismissing him for a 22-ball 45. Sears, Mitchell Santner and Ferguson ran through Australia’s middle-order in the middle overs to reduce them to 122 for 6. New Zealand finished well with the ball too as Australia went from 140/7 in 15 overs to 174 all out in 19.4.
Their batters however, did not consolidate on this situation. They had to chase the total without Rachin Ravindra and Devon Conway, who hit fast fifties in the opening fixture. Conway suffered a thumb injury in the first innings and was not available to bat.
Josh Hazlewood dented them early on, by dismissing Finn Allen in the opening over to jolt the hosts. New Zealand lost three wickets in the PowerPlay and the fourth right after this period to be down to 29 for 4.
Josh Clarkson joined Glenn Phillips in the quest to resurrect the chase, and even pushed the team past the halfway stage with a steady fifth-wicket stand. However, Zampa broke through and kickstarted another procession of wickets. Trent Boult’s 16 was the second best effort after Phillips’s 42 in a scorecard of seven single digit scores. New Zealand went from 74 for 4 in the 12th over to 102 all out in 17 overs.
Brief Scores:
Australia 174 in 19.4 overs (Travis Head 45, Pat Cummins 28; Lockie Ferguson 4-12, Ben Sears 2-29) beat New Zealand 102 in 17 overs (Glenn Phillips 42; Adam Zampa 4-34, Nathan Ellis 2-16) by 72 runs
Canada captain Dilpreet Bajwa won the toss and asked South Africa to bat in their World Cup opener in Ahmedabad.
South Africa have opted for a pace-heavy attack. Keshav Maharaj slots in as their only spinner, alongside the speedy quartet of Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi. Tristan Stubbs also begins the tournament at the No. 6 spot – a position Jason Smith had occupied in their last T20I, while Stubbs had slid down to No. 7. Smith is in the World Cup squad but did not find a spot in South Africa’s starting eleven.
South Africa’s pace is expected to get the most out of a characteristically flat Ahmedabad black-soil pitch. But first, their batters will have a hit in a game they begin as overwhelming favourites against Canada, who are their second World Cup.
Canada’s new captain, Bajwa, will lead the side at a global tournament for the first time. He also slots in at the top of the order, alongside Yuvraj Samra, and their batting power will be key to their hopes of causing a massive upset.
Canada have lost both their warm-up games – to Italy and Nepal – but should their batters come off on a friendly pitch, South Africa will look to have the added insurance of a few more runs in the bank before dew takes over when Canada begin their chase at night.
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (capt), Ryan Rickelton, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi
Canada: Dilpreet Bajwa (capt), Yuvraj Samra, Navneet Dhaliwal, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva, Harsh Thaker, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskaran Singh, Dilon Heyliger, Kaleem Sana, Ansh Patel
(Cricinfo)
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza decided to field first against Oman in the men’s T20 World Cup match at the SSC in Colombo. Both teams were pleased to arrive in Sri Lanka early to get themselves attuned to the conditions.
Zimbabwe have Blessing Muzarabani back in the squad after he missed the tri-series in Pakistan in November.
Oman, meanwhile, include 44-year-old Aaamir Kaleem the oldest player in the tournament – after he came into the side in place of Hasnain Shah, who was injured after the squad was named.
Zimbabwe return to the tournament after missing out on the previous edition in West Indies and the United States of America. They had made it to the Super 12s of the 2022 T20 World Cup but failed to progress through the qualifiers for the 2024 tournament. They completed qualification alongside Namibia; Brian Bennett was the tournament’s top run-scorer, while Brad Evans and Richard Ngarava were among the leading wicket-takers.
Zimbabwe are bolstered by the return of Graeme Cremer, whose November 2025 comeback marked the longest gap between T20I appearances.
Oman are one of three qualifiers from the Asia-Pacific region, alongside Nepal and the UAE. They have previously appeared in the 2016, 2021, and 2024 editions of the T20 World Cup.
Oman: Jatinder Singh (capt), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmad
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (capt), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
Scotland may have suffered a blip the last time they faced Italy in a T20I but ensured they picked up the first points of their 2026 T20 World Cup campaign after a dominant performance at Eden Gardens. George Munsey’s 54-ball 84, supported by cameos from Brandon McMullen and Michael Leask, followed by Leask’s four-wicket haul helped Scotland spoil Italy’s debut in the tournament. The 73-run win gave Scotland two points after their defeat to West Indies in Kolkata two days ago.
Brief scores:
Scotland 207 for 4 in 20 overs (George Munsey 84, Michael Jones 37, Brandon McMullen 41, Richie Berrington 15, Michael Leask 22*; Ali Hasan 1-21, Grant Stewart 1-44, Thomas Draca 1-37, JJ Smuts 1-38) beat Italy 134 in 16.4 overs (Anthony Mosca 13, JJ Smutts 22, Harry Manenti 52; Michael Leask 4-17, Brad Currie 1-12, Brad Wheal 1-29, Mark Watt 2-24, Oliver Davidson 1-33 ) by 73 runs
(Cricinfo)
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