Zimbabwe have caused one of the biggest upsets in cricket history by beating World Champions Australia by 5 wickets in a truly stunning match at Newlands in Cape Town.
The 50-over world champions could only manage 138-9, with Elton Chigumbura (3-20) and Gary Brent (2-19) backed up by energetic fielding and good catches.
Vusi Sibanda (23) began the reply well but wickets slowed the scoring before rain forced a delay in Cape Town.
Brendan Taylor kept cool to hit 60 off 45 balls and the penultimate ball went for four leg-byes to seal a famous win.
It provided an early and dramatic twist in Group B, which also features England, who can eliminate the world's best team by beating them on Friday.
Ricky Ponting's men will need to improve considerably after a well below-par performance which continued the rustiness they showed in the warm-up matches.
Ponting became the first skipper in the tournament so far to opt to bat and soon saw Matthew Hayden edge behind, while Adam Gilchrist mis-timed a pull to deep mid-wicket to give Chigumbura two early victims.
With the rain coming down hard, the sense of drama was heightened when Matsikenyeri skied a catch off Clark to keeper Gilchrist and the seamer ended with excellent figures of 2-22.
When the umpires called a halt not long after the Aussies were firmly back in the game but boundaries started flowing on the resumption and Taylor cracked two big straight sixes off Hodge to bring the game back to the boil.
He got to his fifty off 38 balls and 23 were needed off the last three overs but clever bowling from Johnson and Lee denied the batsmen the room to clear the field.
Masakadza (27) was lbw trying to do that against Lee and 12 were required off the final over.
Taylor got an inside edge of the first ball from Bracken which evaded the fielder at deep backward square-leg and when the fifth delivery was speared down the leg-side by Bracken, it flicked off his pads to spark scenes of unbridled jubilation.
Source
The 50-over world champions could only manage 138-9, with Elton Chigumbura (3-20) and Gary Brent (2-19) backed up by energetic fielding and good catches.
Vusi Sibanda (23) began the reply well but wickets slowed the scoring before rain forced a delay in Cape Town.
Brendan Taylor kept cool to hit 60 off 45 balls and the penultimate ball went for four leg-byes to seal a famous win.
It provided an early and dramatic twist in Group B, which also features England, who can eliminate the world's best team by beating them on Friday.
Ricky Ponting's men will need to improve considerably after a well below-par performance which continued the rustiness they showed in the warm-up matches.
Ponting became the first skipper in the tournament so far to opt to bat and soon saw Matthew Hayden edge behind, while Adam Gilchrist mis-timed a pull to deep mid-wicket to give Chigumbura two early victims.
With the rain coming down hard, the sense of drama was heightened when Matsikenyeri skied a catch off Clark to keeper Gilchrist and the seamer ended with excellent figures of 2-22.
When the umpires called a halt not long after the Aussies were firmly back in the game but boundaries started flowing on the resumption and Taylor cracked two big straight sixes off Hodge to bring the game back to the boil.
He got to his fifty off 38 balls and 23 were needed off the last three overs but clever bowling from Johnson and Lee denied the batsmen the room to clear the field.
Masakadza (27) was lbw trying to do that against Lee and 12 were required off the final over.
Taylor got an inside edge of the first ball from Bracken which evaded the fielder at deep backward square-leg and when the fifth delivery was speared down the leg-side by Bracken, it flicked off his pads to spark scenes of unbridled jubilation.
Source
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