Nathan Ellis and Adam Zampa successfully restricted Zimbabwe to just four boundaries in the final four overs of their innings, but the damage control came too late to prevent Australia’s 23-run T20 World Cup defeat. The death-overs performance highlighted what might have been if Australia had bowled better throughout.
Ellis and Zampa’s efforts in the closing stages demonstrated their experience and skill in death-overs bowling. Both bowlers executed yorkers, slower balls, and variations effectively, preventing Zimbabwe from exploding to an even more intimidating total. The restriction to four boundaries in the final four overs represented good work under pressure, limiting Zimbabwe to 169-2 when a score above 180 seemed possible.
However, the death-overs success couldn’t compensate for earlier failures. Both Ellis (0 for 34) and Zampa (0 for 31) went wicketless throughout their spells, combining for figures of 0 for 65. Their inability to take wickets allowed Brian Bennett to remain unbeaten on 64 and guide Zimbabwe to a competitive total. The lack of breakthroughs meant Zimbabwe never faced the pressure of rebuilding after losing set batsmen.
The contrast between Ellis and Zampa’s performance against Ireland, where both were match-winners, and their showing against Zimbabwe raised questions about consistency and adaptability. Against Ireland, both bowlers took crucial wickets and maintained pressure. Against Zimbabwe, they struggled to create the same impact, suggesting either poor execution, better opposition batting, or ineffective tactical deployment by acting captain Travis Head.
Australia’s chase was doomed by their powerplay collapse to 29 for 4, with Blessing Muzarabani’s devastating 4 for 17 destroying the top order. Matthew Renshaw’s fighting 65 and Glenn Maxwell’s 31 provided hope, but both chopped onto their stumps at crucial moments. Marcus Stoinis contributed just 6 runs, and Australia was bowled out for 146. The defeat represents Australia’s first T20 World Cup loss to Zimbabwe since 2007 and leaves them facing potential elimination.