Zimbabwe, Nepal and Oman registered morale-boosting victories in the latest round of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up matches, delivering strong performances across venues in Colombo and Chennai.
Zimbabwe defeated the Netherlands by 29 runs at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, thanks to standout contributions from Ryan Burl and Richard Ngarava. After an aggressive start by Dion Myers, who smashed 32 off 14 balls, Zimbabwe found stability through Burl, who scored an unbeaten 50 from 31 deliveries, striking six boundaries to guide his team to 178 for nine.
Logan van Beek impressed with the ball for the Netherlands, picking up 3 for 22. However, the Dutch chase faltered early as Max O’Dowd and Bas de Leede were dismissed for ducks. Captain Scott Edwards scored 26, while Van Beek’s late 40 not out could not prevent the defeat. Ngarava led Zimbabwe’s bowling with figures of 3 for 11.
Nepal secured a comfortable seven-wicket win over the UAE at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. After opting to bat first, the UAE slumped from 42 for one to 66 for five, with Sandeep Lamichhane claiming two wickets. A recovery partnership between Sohaib Khan (38 not out) and Harshit Kaushik (35) lifted the UAE to 145 for six.
Nepal lost early wickets but an unbeaten 100-run partnership between Dipendra Singh Airee (50*) and Aarif Sheikh (61*) ensured a smooth chase, completed with three overs to spare.
In Colombo, Aamir Kaleem’s explosive 80 off 47 balls guided Oman to a five-wicket win over Sri Lanka A. Sri Lanka A posted 145 for nine, with Wanuja Sahan top-scoring with 29. Oman’s chase was dominated by Aamir’s aggressive knock, supported by Vinayak Shukla’s unbeaten 39, sealing victory with two overs remaining.
The wins provided valuable momentum for Zimbabwe, Nepal and Oman ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
