T20 World Cup: Zimbabwe favoured by rain as it enters the Super Eight

When Australia captain Mitchell Marsh was asked about his team’s hopes of making it through to the Super Eight after a demoralising loss against Sri Lanka on Monday, he mentioned ‘the luck of the Irish”.

Australia had to hope for Zimbabwe to falter against both Ireland and Sri Lanka in its next two games before facing Oman in its last game with the hopes of overturning a Net Run Rate deficit. Unfortunately, the rain gods in Pallekele did not get the memo.

The ICC T20 World Cup Group-B encounter against Ireland being called off before the toss meant Zimbabwe accumulated enough points to join Sri Lanka in the final eight. As for Australia, it failed to qualify out of the group stage for the first time since 2009.

A nagging drizzle since the morning of the game meant the entire ground was covered long before the scheduled start of 3 p.m. local time. The grass banks of the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, which were teeming with passionate Sri Lankan supporters just 18 hours ago, wore a desolate look.

Fans of team Zimbabwe cheer as the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup group stage match against Ireland was called off due to rain at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy on February 17, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
AFP

The 500-odd fans that were waiting patiently in the stands did not even need an umbrella for the drizzle. But in one of cricket’s mysterious idiosyncrasies, that was enough to prevent the contest from getting underway.

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Zimbabwe isn’t complaining. Nor is Ireland, which had very little to gain out of the contest. A downcast Australia, though, will have to complete the formalities against Oman and head back home without a semifinal appearance for the third successive edition since its 2021 triumph.