ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 | Match 8: Oman vs Zimbabwe | Preview and Predictions

The action in the T20 World Cup 2026 continues as the Group B matches continue with Oman taking on Zimbabwe in the upcoming game.

Here, we present our preview and predictions for the game.

ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 | Match 8: OMA vs ZIM | 15:00, February 9, 2026

Oman take on Zimbabwe in their opening encounter in the T20 World Cup 2026 with the two squads having faced before in the warm up games, where Oman came out victorious. Aamir Kaleem has been in good form off late and along with their captain Jatinder Singh and Hammad Mirza at the top, Oman have a settled and experienced top order. The middle order’s form is the one that will be a cause for concern for the Oman management, with the middle order having struggled in both warm up games. Nadeem Khan and Sufyan Mehmood have been amongst the wickets and on slow pitches in Sri Lanka and India, they will be key along with the likes of Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed and Shafiq Jan. 

Zimbabwe on the other side come into the tournament with mixed results in their warm-up games. They beat the Netherlands convincingly, but fell to Oman. The Zimbabwe squad have a lot of experience and talent at their disposal with a strong batting lineup consisting of the likes of Brendan Taylor, Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl and Sikandar Raza. Raa, who will be leading them, will be key with his bowling as well, especially in Indian and Sri Lankan conditions. The likes of Richard Ngarava, Wellington Masakadza and Brad Evans will be leading the bowling attack with Blessing Muzarabani being the one to watch out for given his recent form.

The slower bowlers and spinners will come into play in Colombo with two teams almost evenly matched taking on each other. There might not be a lot of runs on offer but we should be expecting a close game with Zimbabwe’s squad experienced giving them the edge in this game. 

Fantasy XI: Aamir Kaleem, Brendan Taylor (wk), Jatinder Singh, Sikandar Raza (c), Vinayak Shukla, Ryan Burl, Jay Odedra, Wellington Masakadza, Shah Faisal, Sufyan Mehmood, Blessing Muzarabani

Venue: Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo

Winners Prediction: Zimbabwe