By The Canadian Press

Australia crashes out of T20 World Cup but Zimbabwe and New Zealand advance to Super 8s

Feb 16, 2026 | 10:45 PM

PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka (AP) — Australia, the 2021 champion, crashed out of cricket’s T20 World Cup on Tuesday after Zimbabwe’s Group B game against Ireland was abandoned because of rain without a ball being bowled.

But the no-result in Pallekele meant Zimbabwe qualified for the second stage of the tournament for the first time.

Seven teams have now qualified for the second round. Zimbabwe will be in Group 1 along with defending champion India, West Indies and South Africa. Sri Lanka is in Group 2 with England, New Zealand and Pakistan or USA.

Earlier, Canada batter Yuvraj Samra’s exhilarating century proved in vain as New Zealand advanced to the Super 8s with an eight-wicket win in Chennai.

New Zealand’s resounding victory knocked 2024 semi-finalist Afghanistan out of the tournament.

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Later, Scotland will take on Nepal in Mumbai in their final Group C game. Both sides have already been eliminated.

Dream come true for Samra

Samra’s 110 off 65 balls, which included six sixes and 11 fours, had earlier guided Canada to 173-4 after captain Dilpreet Bajwa won the toss and elected to bat.

The 19-year-old Samra, who caught the eye last year when he smashed a 15-ball half century against Bahamas, became the first batter from an associate nation to score a hundred at the T20 World Cup.

“I manifested this moment ever since we qualified for the World Cup. Every single day I dreamed about scoring a hundred on this stage,” he said. “To do it here, in my first appearance (in Chennai), and as the youngest player in this World Cup – it’s truly a dream come true.”

Bajwa made 36 off 39 balls and together with Samra put on 116 for the first wicket.

New Zealand struggled to stem the flow of runs and felt the absence of captain Mitchell Santner, who was ruled out of the game due to a “dodgy burger” on Monday night, and fast bowler Lockie Ferguson.

Ferguson is on paternity leave but is expected to re-join the team for the Super 8s. Samra was dropped, but not before he had raised his century off 58 deliveries, when the ball burst through the hands of James Neesham at long-off.

His belligerent knock ended in the final over when Phillips caught him at deep backward square leg at the second attempt.

In reply, Glenn Phillips (76 not out) and Rachin Ravindra (59 not out) led New Zealand to 176-2 in 15.1 overs on a perfect batting wicket as the Black Caps claimed their third win in Group D.

Finn Allen and Tim Seifert fell inside four balls in the power play before Phillips and Ravindra shared an electrifying 146-run partnership in just 12 overs.

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AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

The Associated Press