Ireland vs Zimbabwe, 32nd Match, Group B, ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 - Commentary

Rain wins in Pallekele and Zimbabwe become the 7th team to get a ticket to the Super 8s. It also means it's the end of the road for both Australia and Ireland. The forecast was for showers right through the day and sadly it just didn't relent for any play to be possible. So, that's Super 8 Group G1 getting sorted. It's India, South Africa, West Indies and Zimbabwe, all of them playing matches in India. On the other hand, Sri Lanka, England, New Zealand and one of Pakistan/USA will constitute Super 8 Group G2 and their matches will be held in Colombo and Pallekele. More cricketing action is coming up shortly as Nepal and Scotland wind up their tournament with a clash at the Wankhede Stadium. Change tabs and follow all the action. For now, cheers and bye..

(2/2) "(how is the planning regarding the conditions changing in the next phase?) I think every condition we find ourselves in, if we can find a day or two to train, I think we'll sum up the conditions really well and hopefully make those plans. One thing you can't fight is the weather and conditions. So we try and learn those conditions if we can have two, three training days in a particular city, wherever we're going to. We haven't played in Kandy, but Colombo and SSC, we have sort of figured out what works, what doesn't. And if that means we have to travel now to different parts of the world as well, we do that. We train, we try and assess the conditions. We have watched the games. Previous games that's played on those wickets, and we sort of come up with plans against the opposition we're going to face. So, yeah, we're pretty confident that once we land where we need to land, then hopefully we'll come up with very good plans against every opposition to try and put our best foot forward, try and give the world a good game of cricket and try and earn more respect for Zimbabwe. (addressing the 15-16 people who have travelled all the way to support them) Pommie, I can tell you, whichever corner they're sitting at, at any ground, they'll be the loudest, and they have the songs. They just keep the vibe. They keep lifting us up when the energies are down and in this weather, it can be sometimes. But when we hear them to push us on and we know the songs as well, it gives us that energy as well. And these guys have done it from their own pockets. I mean, credit to these guys. I hope this is a start. This is the start of many more fans to travel for Zimbabwe. We are trying our best to raise the flag high. Hopefully the numbers will increase. Hopefully there'll be more buzz and hopefully it's the start of a culture from fans' point of view, that let's get behind our team wherever they go, if they can."

Sikandar Raza | Zimbabwe captain: (1/2) "(do you lead the singing?) No, Richard Ngarava leads the singing. He's made some very good songs for the team as well, so he's the headmaster of our music group. (how big is this especially having not qualified for the last edition?) I'll take you back when we played the sub-regional qualifiers B, and we played the Kenya, the Rwanda, Tanzania, and all those teams. And I remember I stood up to my troops and I said, we are in this position or in this mess, as you want to call it, because of us. There's no-one else to blame. And only us that would get this mess clear and only us can get it out of it. So what are we gonna do about it? And we won the qualifiers B, regional sub-regional B, then the main qualifiers happened. We won that as well. And even when we set out for this World Cup, while you say we will celebrate and I think we will, but for a very short time because we've got to travel day tomorrow and we've got a game against Sri Lanka. As much as we have achieved, but it's just a tick in the box. It's not the whole box that we set out for. So the group stays focused, the group stays committed, and the sacrifices we have to make for them, for the country and for the team and try and get the results, we'll do that. There will be a small celebration, but we get ready for the next game because it's just a tick in the box, like I said. It is not the only goal we set out for. (How do you ensure you keep doing it right?) Yeah, certainly so. Myself and the coach will sit down. We watched Sri Lanka in the last three games as well. We're going to have the data on them and we try and put our best foot forward and try and win that game. That is the whole point of us being here. The fact that we've qualified for the Super 8s hasn't changed the ultimate goal that we set out for. Like I said, it's just a tick in the box, but we have a lot of other goals to achieve and everybody loves an underdog story, don't they?"

Lorcan Tucker | Stand-in Ireland captain: "(nothing we can do about the weather?) Yeah, something we're quite familiar with as Irish people, I think. Obviously very disappointed to go out in this fashion, but completely uncontrollable and, yeah, just was what to expect today. (a reflection on the tournament?) Potentially, I think we felt like we were building some momentum after the Oman game. Unfortunately, it seems that the momentum came too late. I think when we look back, there were big moments in the tournament, especially in that first game against Sri Lanka, where we maybe didn't get quite right. But I think looking back on that, just wasn't ready to be, felt like we might have started a bit slower than we wanted to, but I think just the way that the tournament fell for us. (what's next when you keep playing at higher level opposition) Yeah, I think our group gained great experience in this tournament. I think a lot of them, it's their first World Cup. It gets really competitive, I think it shows the pressure the elite cricketers are under. I think those big moments, understanding how to deal with them, how to process them. I think we're hoping to have some big moments in the next couple of years and hopefully prepare us for the next cycle."

Generally, there is no presentation or captain comments after an abandoned game but we have Lorcan Tucker and Sikandar Raza speaking to Pommie Mbangwa.

Before we leave, we have some live visuals with the Zimbabwean supporters crowding in front of the dressing room. It's a party atmosphere out there and the players have joined in the celebrations. Lots of raucous faces, lots of clapping, the cricketers visibly looked thrilled and they will be hopefully buoyed by this support group. They'll face Sri Lanka next and then travel to India for the Super Eights. Four big games coming up and they'll surely fancy their chances of causing further flutters.

17:30 Local Time, 12:00 GMT, 17:30 IST: The umpires have had a long chat with the curator and have headed back to the dressing room. We should get some news shortly. They're now talking to the two captains. Shake of the hands and that's it - the match has been abandoned.

17:20 Local Time, 11:50 GMT, 17:20 IST: The Zimbabwean supporters continue to make merry in the rain. They've enjoyed their time in Sri Lanka and will look to back their team going into the Super 8s with possible matches in Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi.

17:10 Local Time, 11:40 GMT, 17:10 IST: Some activity in the back-end and quite a few covers have been removed. The head curator is chatting with the umpires, but they're all huddled under the umbrella. It only means that the drizzle hasn't stopped completely.

17:00 Local Time, 11:30 GMT, 17:00 IST: We have some live pictures and it isn't great. The ground remains completely covered and the groundstaff are just attempting to remove the excess water on the sheets.

Nishith Sonal: Zimbabwe delivered an outstanding performance against Australia. With their final group-stage clash against Sri Lanka approaching, Sri Lanka will face a serious challenge. This crucial match will determine which group they enter in the Super 8 stage. 'No, groups have been pre-seeded. Zimbabwe will take Australia's place and have games against India, South Africa and West Indies. Sri Lanka will go to the other group'

ambrish nallasanampalli: Imagine telling a Zimbabwe fan in 2024 they’d be one rainstorm away from the Super 8s and automatic 2028 qualification. The drama of the cut-off time is peaking. Whether it's a 5-over shootout or a washout, Zimbabwe have earned this spotlight. Heartbreak for some, history for others

Saswat Meher: The way in which Sikandar Raza has shown confidence in himself and his team is commendable. Getting beaten by Uganda, a lesser cricket team is hard, but by making a comeback from that and defeating Australia in this World Cup and getting into the Super 8s, they have proved their brilliance.

16:30 Local Time, 11:00 GMT, 16:30 IST: We've definitely started to lose overs and we're only 100 minutes away from the 6:10 pm cut-off time. It still looks dark and gloomy in Pallekele and the rain hasn't stopped since morning.

16:20 Local Time, 10:50 GMT, 16:20 IST: Rain and more rain in Pallekele. We're looking at a possible washout and a place for Zimbabwe in the Super 8s. That's some story for a country who were beaten by Uganda and failed to land a spot in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Not only will they play India, South Africa and West Indies in the Super 8s, they'll also gain an automatic berth for the next tournament in 2028.

16:05 Local Time, 10:35 GMT, 16:05 IST: Some activity from the groundstaff as the thin drizzle somewhat recedes. We're hearing that we'll start to lose overs in around 5 minutes time. The cut-off time for a 5-over game is around 6:10 pm local. Some of the sheets had been removed, but the drizzle is back now and so are all the covers.

15:55 Local Time, 10:25 GMT, 15:55 IST: Good news from Pallekele. Rain has stopped and they're slowly peeling off the covers. Most of the centre square except the pitch has been uncovered now. Or have they? Looks like the drizzle is back and the wait continues. The entire ground is back under covers. This is a long process - they are removing the excess water from the covers and placing it back. The head of the groundstaff remains busy overseeing the operation.

15:35 Local Time, 10:05 GMT, 15:35 IST: Nothing new to report - it's still raining in Pallekele. No movement from the groundstaff at all and we have reached a stage where we'll start to lose overs.

Pankaj Lakhara: Everyone is talking about Zimbabwe and Australia's chances to qualify. What are the chances of Ireland to go through? A washout today will end their chances. For them to qualify -> they need to win with a good margin today and then hope that Australia either lose / win with a smaller margin against Oman.

More reading material as we wait for the weather to clear. Here's our correspondent Narbavi with an excellent write-up on Brian Bennett, one of the heroes of Zimbabwe's win over Australia.

15:05 Local Time, 09:35 GMT, 15:05 IST: We have a one-hour buffer before we start to lose overs. So there's still plenty of time on our hands. But first, the conditions need to improve and the groundstaff will need some time to clear the covers and get the ground match-ready

Aniket Kule: In T20Is, Ireland and Zimbabwe are perfectly balanced — 16 matches played, 8 wins each. No ties, no dominance — just a true 50-50 rivalry. Every time these two meet, it’s anyone’s game.

14:50 Local Time, 09:20 GMT, 14:50 IST: It's still a light drizzle, but it looks dark behind and we can barely see the hills in the background. Plenty of water on the covers and we can see droplets falling onto the blue sheets. As is the case at any Sri Lankan venue, the entire ground is under covers.

Sandeep Patil: Before the T20 World Cup began, many thought the associate nations would make the first round one-sided and predictable. But what a surprise! Every associate team has played fearless, competitive cricket and pushed the big teams to the limit. Cricket wins. Long live the game

Anil Chaudhary : Zimbabwe have shown great character in this tournament. It would be fitting if they seal qualification with a performance rather than a washout. Fingers crossed the rain clears soon

As we await for the some news from Pallekele, have a read of our exclusive on Axar Patel - one of India's mainstay all-rounders

14:30 Local Time, 09:00 GMT, 14:30 IST: It's raining in Pallekele and the entire ground is under covers. However, the forecast is for the weather to improve as the day progresses and hopefully we'll have some cricket. Mind you, a washout will be enough for Zimbabwe to qualify and it'll also result in the elimination of Australia. For now, toss has been delayed.