By IANS
Cape Town : Brendan Taylor starred for minnows Zimbabwe as they stunned World Cup winners Australia by five wickets in a Group B match of the Twenty20 World Championship here Wednesday.
Wicket-keeper Taylor scored an unbeaten 60 off just 45 balls (4x4s, 2x6s) to help his team successfully chase Australia’s 138 for nine wickets in 20 overs at Newlands.
The Prosper Utseya-led Zimbabwe won with one ball to spare, finishing at 139 for five in 19.5 overs and signalling prolonged celebrations on the field. They collected two points for the win.
Taylor, who also kept wickets brilliantly, was adjudged the Man of the Match for his brave efforts.
Zimbabwe, who are currently suspended from Test cricket by the International Cricket Council for problems in their board, put up an all-round performance to register the memorable win.
They batted solidly, bowled tightly, were sharp in the field and looked hungrier of the two teams.
Australia won the toss, but that was the only thing they won in a match that had all the hallmarks of a thriller.
After choosing to bat first, Australia had a disastrous start and lost three important wickets – of Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting – for just 19 runs.
Mike Hussey (15) and Andrew Symonds (33, 25 balls, 4x4s) stemmed the rot for a brief period as they put on 29 for the fourth wicket.
Then, top scorer Brad Hodge (35, 22 balls, 2x4s, 2x6s) and Symonds added 38 for the fifth wicket for the only other meaningful partnership.
Elton Chigumbura was the pick of the Zimbabwe bowlers as he took three wickets for 20 while Gray Brent bagged two.
Zimbabwe fielded brilliantly and held their catches while Taylor effected a superb stumping of Symonds that could well have turned the game on its head.
Vusi Sibanda (23, 15 balls, 5x4s) and Taylor led Zimbabwe’s chase with a 31-run opening wicket stand that spurred them on further.
Down the order, Hamilton Masakadza chipped in with 27 off 28 balls (2x4s) and Chamu Chibhabha made a 14-ball 15, which included three boundaries.
Australians looked a bit overconfident in the field while the Zimbabwe batsmen looked determined to win.
Stuart Clark was the best Australian bowler with two wickets.
SCOREBOARD
Australia vs. Zimbabwe, Twenty20 World Championship, at Newlands, Cape Town,
Australia:
Adam Gilchrist c Matsikenyeri b Chigumbura 4
Matthew Hayden c Taylor b Chigumbura 4
Ricky Ponting c Chigumbura b Brent 8
Andrew Symonds st Taylor b Masakadza 33
Mike Hussey run out (Sibanda) 15
Brad Hodge not out 35
Brad Haddin c Chigumbura b Utseya 6
Brett Lee b Brent 12
Michael Johnson run out (Brent/Taylor) 9
Nathan Bracken c Sibanda b Chigumbura 4
Extras: (byes 2, wides 6) 8
Total: (for 9 wickets in 20 overs) 138
Fall of wickets: 1-7 (Hayden, 0.4 overs), 2-12 (Gilchrist, 2.2), 3-19 (Ponting, 3.6), 4-48 (Hussey, 9.2), 5-86 (Symonds, 13.4), 6-102 (Haddin, 16.2), 7-119 (Lee, 18.1), 8-134 (Johnson, 19.3), 9-138 (Bracken, 19.6)
Bowling:
Elton Chigumbura 3 0 20 3
Gary Brent 4 0 19 2 (2w)
Tawanda Mupariwa 3 0 23 0 (3w)
Chamu Chibhabha 3 0 17 0 (1w)
Prosper Utseya 4 0 28 1
Tatenda Taibu 2 0 20 0
Hamilton Masakadza 1 0 9 1
Zimbabwe:
Vusi Sibanda c Gilchrist b Bracken 23
Brendan Taylor not out 60
Chamu Chibhabha c Gilchrist b Clark 15
Tatenda Taibu c Gilchrist b Johnson 0
Stuart Matsikenyeri c Gilchrist b Clark 3
Hamilton Masakadza lbw b Lee 27
Elton Chigumbura not out 4
Extras: (lb 4, w 3) 7
Total: (for 5 wickets in 19.5 overs) 139
Fall of wickets: 1-31 (Sibanda, 3.5 overs), 2-54 (Chibhabha, 6.6), 3-55 (Taibu, 7.6), 4-70 (Matsikenyeri, 10.5), 5-123 (Masakadza, 18.3)
Bowling:
Brett Lee 4 0 31 1 (2w)
Nathan Bracken 3.5 0 25 1
Stuart Clark 4 0 22 2
Michael Johnson 4 0 26 1 (1w)
Andrew Symonds 2 0 11 0
Brad Hodge 2 0 20 0
Result: Zimbabwe won by 5 wickets
Points: Zimbabwe 2
Man of the Match: Brendan Taylor (Zimbabwe)
Umpires: Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and Tony Hill (New Zealand)
TV umpire: Ian Howell (South Africa)
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka)