ICC Men's T20 WC 2026 | Match 19: Australia vs Zimbabwe | Preview and Predictions

Two teams who picked up big wins in their opening games will look to solidify their spot at the top of Group B when they face off in Match 19 of the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

For the game between Australia and Zimbabwe, here we present our preview and predictions.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 | Match 19: AUS vs ZIM | 11:00, February 13, 2026

Australia started their World Cup campaign with a comfortable win against Ireland, though the Travis Head-led side did have an early wobble.

With no Mitchell Marsh, Head captained the side and opened with Josh Inglis. Head was back in the pavilion early, though, while the top order of Inglis, Cameron Green, and Matt Renshaw all got starts but failed to make them count. After being in a spot of bother early on at 88/4, some late fireworks from Marcus Stoinis and valuable runs from lower-order batters Cooper Connolly and Xavier Bartlett got Australia to a commendable 182/6.

However, the Aussies will be aware that they would have struggled to put up a par score against a more lethal bowling attack and will need their top-order batters to make it count. If Marsh returns to the playing XI, we can expect more balance and firepower at the top.

While their batting wasn’t as clean and reliable as Australia would’ve liked it to be, their bowlers were on the money from the get-go. Bartlett and Matthew Kuhnemann were economical up top, while Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa ran through the Irish batters, each picking up a four-wicket haul to hand their team a 67-run win.

With big names Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood missing, captain Marsh will expect more of the same from his bowlers, with Australia’s slow-bowling attack being perfect for the Colombo conditions.

Zimbabwe, on the other hand, come into this game following a big win against Oman in their opening game, where their bowlers stepped up and delivered for the African side.

The fast-bowling trio of Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, and Brad Evans started their campaign on a strong note. The Zimbabwean bowling attack was clinical, economical, and on song throughout and restricted Oman to a mere 103. On a Colombo track that they have already played on, the ZIM bowlers will look to repeat the same against Australia.

The batters didn’t have a big total to chase, but the likes of Brian Bennett and Brendan Taylor, two of Zimbabwe’s key batters, did get crucial runs and time in the middle.

The R Premadasa pitch is a slow and gripping one, with not many runs on offer. A morning game means there could be something for seamers early on before the pitch flattens.

Australia started strongly against Ireland, and while Zimbabwe come into this game high on confidence themselves, the 2021 T20 World Cup winners hold a slight edge in this encounter. That said, we do expect a close game.

Fantasy XI: Travis Head (c), Mitchell Marsh, Brian Bennett, Brendan Taylor (wk), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Sikandar Raza, Adam Zampa (vc), Richard Ngarava, Brad Evans, Nathan Ellis

Venue: R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo
Winners Prediction: Australia