Zimbabwe one win away from Super 8s, Ireland chase survival

Zimbabwe face off Ireland with an eye on a Super Eights spot, their path clearer with Australia's loss to Sri Lanka on Monday (February 16).

With two wins in two games, Zimbabwe are second on the Group B points table, just below co-hosts Sri Lanka, who defeated Australia by eight wickets to seal their place in the Super Eights. It has also opened up the points table for Ireland: on level points with Australia, they could go third if they beat Zimbabwe, even though they're currently behind on net run-rate.

For Zimbabwe, a win would be enough to go through, a significant result in the context of the group. It would make it the first group-stage exit for Australia since the 2009 edition.

Zimbabwe come on the back of a 23-run win over Australia, having blanked Oman in their opening encounter. While it does make them favourites going into the encounter, the two teams are level in head-to-head T20Is, winning eight apiece.

Ranked one place ahead of Ireland in the ICC T20I rankings (11th), Zimbabwe would be wary of being complacent, with captain Sikandar Raza saying: "Those victories that we have had so far will count for nothing, especially if there is a slip-up now."

Meanwhile, Ireland will also take confidence into the game. After defeats to Sri Lanka and Australia, they bounced back with an NRR-boosting win over Oman and will aim to finish their group campaign with another victory to stay in the race for the Super 8s.

When: Match 32, Tuesday, February 17, 2026 at 3 PM Local Time

Where: Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Pallekele

What to expect:Both teams haven't played in Pallekele yet, which has seen Sri Lanka put up 225 for 5 against Oman, and chase down 182 with two overs to spare against Australia. It could be another high-scoring game.

Team news

Ireland

Ireland are unlikely to deviate from the XI that beat Oman, where skipper Lorcan Tucker hit 94 off 51, laying the foundation for a 96-run win.

Probable XI: Ross Adair, Tim Tector, Harry Tector, Lorcan Tucker (c & wk), Curtis Campher, George Dockrell, Gareth Delany, Mark Adair, Barry McCarthy, Matthew Humphreys, Joshua Little

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe will bank on their pace attack to continue the good show, with Blessing Muzarabani and Brad Evans leading their wickets tally with seven and six scalps apiece. If fit, they would be tempted to include Richard Ngarava to the set.

Probable XI: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Dion Myers, Sikandar Raza (c), Ryan Burl, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Wellington Masakadza, Graeme Cremer, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava

What they said

"Fine, we've had two results. Fine, the world is talking about Zimbabwe. It is great. But let them do all the talking for us. The next game becomes the most important game and hopefully, like I said, we get a good result out of the game. The game after that becomes the most important game." - Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza.

"I think they're (Zimbabwe) probably as good of a bowling lineup as you'll find in this comp. It's definitely a challenge for our batters and vice versa for us. I think they're a good batting team and they obviously have that little bit of explosiveness towards the back but it's something that we're looking forward to. We've played a lot against them. We've seen a lot of these guys. There should be no surprises for us." - Ireland's Mark Adair.