Australia knocked out of T20 World Cup after Ireland-Zimbabwe match gets washed out; Chevrons through to Super Eights

Sikandar Raza, Zimbabwe captain: "Ngarava led the singing. He has made some very good songs for the team as well so he is the headmaster."

"I will take you back to the sub-regional qualifiers, and I stood up to my troops and said we are in this situation because of ourselves, and only we can clear this mess. As much as we have achieved, it is just a tick in the box and not the whole box."

"There will be a small celebration, but we will then focus on the next game. It is just a small tick in what we have set out to achieve. Myself and the coach, we will sit down, we have the data on them (Sri Lanka) and we will try to win that game."

"Qualifying has not changed our ultimate goal. Everyone loves an underdog story. Every condition we find ourselves in, if we get a day or two to train…we try and learn those conditions."

"We train, try and assess the conditions, see the previous games (at that venue), and try to put together a good game of cricket. (On the travelling fans) Whichever corner they are sitting at, they will be the loudest. They keep lifting us up."

"But when we hear them, it gives us energy. These guys have done it out of their own pockets. Hopefully, it is the start of many more fans coming in. We will try everything to raise the Zimbabwe flag high. Hopefully, the numbers will increase and hopefully this is the start of a culture of fans going wherever the team plays."

BIG NEWS: Australia are out of T20 World Cup 2026! Zimbabwe through to Super Eights. The match has been called off!

The two on-field umpires are huddled in discussion with a member of the ground staff, while the fourth umpire holds an umbrella overhead. Fingers are pointed, plans are being made, likely assessing which areas of the outfield will need attention. Time is ticking for the rain to ease and for the ground staff to get the covers cleared. That said, there’s suddenly more activity near the covers, suggesting the mop-up might be about to start.

The groundsmen are readying the field for the game. But given the water on the covers and sights of an odd umbrealla still open, seems like there is still some time before the match gets underway. No news of toss either.

There is a one hour buffer period before the match starts losing overs. As of now, there is nothing much to report as it continues to drizzle with covers still on the field.

Covers are still on the field. Australians would be praying for the play to commence and Ireland to pull off a miracle here. Not the ideal situation for Australia but this is what it has come to.

Meanwhile, New Zealand qualified for Super Eight in the T20 World Cup after beating Canada in T20 World Cup 2026 in the group-stage match.

Neither side has experienced a match at Pallekele so far, where Sri Lanka posted 225/5 against Oman and successfully chased 182 against Australia with two overs to spare. Expect another potentially high-scoring encounter.

Sikandar Raza: "Fine, we've had two results. Fine, the world is talking about Zimbabwe. It is great. But let them do all the talking for us. The next game becomes the most important game and hopefully, like I said, we get a good result out of the game. The game after that becomes the most important game."

One couldn't have asked for a more balanced rivalry. In 18 T20I meetings, the record is perfectly split at 8-8 (with 2 No Results). Even in T20 World Cups, they are locked at 1-1. Today isn't just a World Cup clash; it's the ultimate tiebreaker in this rivalry.

Teams often prefer bowling first in T20Is. However, Sri Lankan pitches have seen that batting first may not be a bad option. Zimbabwe beat Australia when they batted first. India also batted first during their win over Pakistan, so that might turn out to be interesting call.

A massive blow for Ireland just an hour before the toss. Regular skipper Paul Stirling has been ruled out of today’s crucial clash due to a recurring calf injury. In his absence, Lorcan Tucker will lead the Men in Green. Ireland has also drafted in Sam Topping as cover. With Tucker already in red-hot form (coming off a 94 against Oman), all eyes will be on how he handles the dual responsibility of captaincy and keeping.