T20 World Cup warm-up: Kaleem powers Oman; Zimbabwe down Netherlands

Oman rode on the back of 44-year old Aamer Kaleem's 47-ball 80 to record a 5-wicket win over Sri Lanka A in their T20 World Cup 2026 warm-up fixture at the Colombo Cricket Ground. Sri Lanka A found the going tough after electing to bat , even as opener Dulnith Selgara got them off to a breezy start with a 14-ball 20. Oman's bowlers then chipped away at regular intervals and it was Chamindu Wickramasinghe's unbeaten late blitz of 24 that took Sri Lanka A to 145/9. Shah Faisal, Shakeel Ahmed and Jay Odedra bagged two wickets apiece to headline a disciplined bowling effort by Oman.

In response, Oman lost wickets at regular intervals with none of the top five outside Kaleem recording double-figures as left-arm spinner Wanuja Sahan (3/22) wreaked havoc. The southpaw, who opened the innings, struck 8 fours and 3 sixes and was the glue that held a tricky chase together. He found able support in the form of wicket-keeper Vinayak Shukla, who struck an unbeaten 39 that saw his team home with two overs to spare.

Zimbabwe marked their return to the T20 World Cup stage with a clinical all-round performance in their first warm-up fixture against Netherlands at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, recording a 29-run win. Having opted to bat first upon winning the toss, Zimbabwe relied on Dion Myers's blazing 14-ball 32 and Ryan Burl's unbeaten 50 off 31 balls to post a competitive total of 178/9 in their allotted 20 overs. Handy cameos from Brad Evans (15) and Tony Munyonga (17) played its part in catapulting the score close to the 180-mark, even as Logan van Beek bagged a three-fer for the Dutch.

In response, Netherlands never got going in their chase with left-arm seamer Richard Ngarava wreaking havoc in the very first over as he removed both Max O'Dowd and Bas de Leede for ducks. Having lost two more wickets inside the PowerPlay, there was no way back for Netherlands despite skipper Scott Edwards (26) getting a start. Van Beek, however, warmed up with a few late hits even as it went in vain in the context of the eventual outcome. For Zimbabwe, Ngarava finished with three wickets to his credit while spinners Graeme Cremer and Wellington Masakadza chipped in with two wickets apiece to tune up for the World Cup in style.

Click here to read article