Watch: Winning moments from Zimbabwe defeating Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in T20 World Cup 2026

The full house R. Premadasa Stadium witnessed history on February 19. Zimbabwe outplayed Sri Lanka, the co-host of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2026, by 6 wickets and 3 balls to spare.

It was a group stage match of the tournament, but the atmosphere of the arena was electrifying, and spectators who visited the venue were gifted with a thriller. Like many instances, when Zimbabwe took the field, they were the least favorite to win the match. February 19 was not exceptional.

No matter which side the crowd was in the valley, they eventually ended in a standing ovation for the winning team, which was Zimbabwe, the underdog. From the beginning of the tournament, they found themselves out of the equation. They were not considered as one of the dark horses. Proving most of the speculations wrong, the Chevrons qualified for the next phase of the T20 World Cup 2026, and in their final match of the group stage, they outclassed the co-hosts, Sri Lanka.

According to the match results, Zimbabwe defeated Sri Lanka, one of the most preferred teams to qualify for the semifinals, by 6 wickets on Thursday. The crowd in Colombo, a majority of them definitely did not expect to see Zimbabwe conducting the victory lap, ended by praising their heart out fight.

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Brian Bennett, Zimbabwe opener, delivered out from the blue 

There were multiple videos on the social media platforms to depict a summary of the ambiance of the stadium after the stunning result. The players, and the players of the Zimbabwe cricket team, may not forget the moment soon. According to the stats, Zimbabwe accomplished their second-best run chase (179 runs) in their history of the T20Is. In 2023, they went on to win against Namibia by chasing a target of 199.

A couple of years ago, Zimbabwe overtook Sri Lanka by chasing a target of 174. Out of multiple equations, the emerging T20 World Cup opener Brian Bennett emerged as one of the most consistent batters by registering 48* (36) vs Oman, 64* (56) vs Australia, and 63* (48) vs. Sri Lanka.