ZIM vs OMA T20 World Cup Highlights: Bennett, Taylor guide Zimbabwe to 8 wicket win vs Oman in their tournament opener

Zimbabwe vs Oman T20 World Cup LIVE Score: Short ball at the middle and leg. The Oman captain, Jatinder Singh rocks back and pulls that away behind square on the leg side for the first boundary of the match.

Zimbabwe vs Oman T20 World Cup LIVE Score: Out walk the two Oman openers. Jatinder Singh and Aamir Kaleem will start for them. Richard Ngarava will start the proceedings for Zimbabwe with the new ball.

Zimbabwe vs Oman T20 World Cup LIVE Score: The two teams line up for the respective national anthems. It will be Oman's national anthem followed by Zimbabwe's.

Zimbabwe vs Oman T20 World Cup Live Score: Here are the playing XI of the two teams -

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sikandar Raza (C), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani

Oman: Jatinder Singh (C), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Jiten Ramanandi, Vinayak Shukla (wk), Sufyan Mehmood, Nadeem Khan, Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed

Zimbabwe vs Oman Live Cricket Score: Sikandar Raza, the Zimbabwe captain wins the toss and invites Oman to bat.

Zimbabwe vs Oman Live Cricket Score: Oman's World Cup hopes begin with their skipper Jatinder Singh setting the tempo at the top, because their best games come when the powerplay doesn't drift away. Behind him, Mohammed Nadeem is the multi-phase glue: can bat, can bowl and can plug holes when plans wobble. Watch Vinayak Shukla as the keeper batter can inject momentum into the innings, and Sufyan Mehmood for middle-overs control on Sri Lankan surfaces. If Oman want to flip 2024 pain into 2026 points, these four must stay in the game from ball one.

Zimbabwe vs Oman T20 World Cup Live Score: Zimbabwe's campaign starts with the usual truth: if Sikandar Raza fires, the Chevrons look like a different team. He is the captain, the all-round glue, and the one who can win you two phases in one night. Up top, Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava are the powerplay weapons with the ball - height, pace and left-arm angle (Ngarava), exactly the mix that can force early mistakes. In the batting group, keep an eye on Brian Bennett for platforms and Ryan Burl for middle-overs acceleration. And then there is Brendan Taylor's veteran calm - useful currency in a World Cup.

Zimbabwe vs Oman Live Cricket Score: Here are the full squads of both the teams:

Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Dion Myers, Brendan Taylor(w), Sikandar Raza (captain), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Wellington Masakadza, Brad Evans, Tinotenda Maposa, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani, Tony Munyonga, Clive Madande, Graeme Cremer

Oman: Jatinder Singh (captain), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Wasim Ali, Karan Sonavale, Vinayak Shukla(w), Jiten Ramanandi, Nadeem Khan, Sufyan Mehmood, Shakeel Ahmed, Shah Faisal, Mohammad Nadeem, Jay Odedra, Ashish Odedara, Shafiq Jan

Oman arrive at the T20 World Cup 2026 with a clean, confidence-building runway. They qualified through the Asia-EAP Qualifier hosted at home, finishing second behind Nepal to clinch a World Cup spot. In the warm-up games, they backed it up: Oman chased 146 against Sri Lanka A on February 3, getting home in 18 overs for a five-wicket win. Two days later, they pulled off a bigger chase - hunting down 188 to beat Zimbabwe by four wickets.

Zimbabwe arrive at the T20 World Cup 2026 on the back of a perfect Africa Qualifier run - they went unbeaten through the regional final in Harare in October 2025 to seal their ticket. In the immediate build-up, Sikandar Raza's men have used the warm-up games to sharpen combinations: they beat the Netherlands by 29 runs, before getting a reality check when Oman chased down 188 against them in Colombo on February 5.

Now, with Zimbabwe back at a World Cup after missing 2024, the early matches are less about finding rhythm and more about grabbing points before the table starts breathing down everyone's neck.

Oman's most recent World Cup outing came at the T20 World Cup 2024 - and it was brutal on the points table: 4 matches, 0 wins. They nearly opened with a statement, tying against Namibia on 109, only to lose the Super Over. The Scotland hunted down 151 against them in just 13.1 overs. Australia beat them by 39 runs, before England bowled them out for 47 and finished the chase in 3.1 overs.

Last time Zimbabwe featured at a T20 World Cup was 2022, and they didn't just show up - they announced themselves. In the first round at Hobart, they beat Ireland by 31 runs and then chased down Scotland to win by five wickets, a result that pushed them in to the Super 12s.

Their Super 12 campaign had one of the tournament's biggest moment: a 1-run win over Pakistan in Perth.

It ended on November 6, 2022 at the MCG, where India won by 71 runs - Zimbabwe's last World Cup game before today's comeback.

Oman qualified for the World Cup via the combined Asia-East Asia-Pacific regional final they hosted in October 2025. Because they played the 2024 T20 World Cup, Oman received a direct entry into the regional final and then did the job in the Super Six stage. A top-three finish was enough to book a place in the T20 World Cup 2026, and Oman secured it before the last matchday, qualifying alongside Nepal; UAE later took the third ticket. It completes Oman's fourth World Cup appearance.

Zimbabwe qualified for the T20 World Cup 2026 through the Africa pathway, turning the regional final at home into a statement run. After advancing from the Africa sub-regional stage, they topped their league phase and then sealed qualification by reaching the final of the Africa Regional Final in Harare. The decisive step came in the semi-final, when Zimbabwe beat Kenya to book one of Africa's two World Cup spots, alongside Namibia. They finished the job in style by beating Namibia in the final, completing an unbeaten campaign. It also ended their World Cup wait after missing the 2024 edition.

Oman already have a little needle in the build-up: They beat Zimbabwe in the warm-up game in Colombo on February 5, chasing 188 with four wickets in hand. Zimbabwe would like to take the revenge where it matters. They would be aiming for a winning return to World Cup cricket.

Zimbabwe are back on the World Cup stage for the first time since November 6, 2022 - 1,191 days gap - after missing the 2024 edition, and they start their 2026 campaign against an Oman side playing its fourth T20 World Cup.