Making history in Nairobi, Kenya, Zimbabwe set a new world record for the highest score in men’s T20 international cricket, scoring 344-4 against Gambia.
Zimbabwe won the match by 290 runs after bundling out their opponents for 54. The match is part of the African qualifying rounds for the 2026 World Cup. With their crushing victory, Zimbabwe broke the previous world record of 314-3 set by Nepal against Mongolia last year in Hangzhou, China.
Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza scored a lightning-fast 133 not out from just 43 balls. The athlete reached his century in 33 balls, matching the feat of Namibia’s Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton, and scoring the second-fasest century in a T20 international. Sahil Chauhan remains the fastest century-maker in T20 internationals, having scored a hundred in just 27 balls for Estonia against Cyprus.
Zimbabwe’s Tadiwanashe Marumani, Clive Madande, and Brian Bennett all achieved half-centuries in the match against Gambia, scoring 62 off 19 balls, 53 not out off 17 balls, and 50 off 26 balls, respectively. Brandon Mavuta (3-10) and Richard Ngarava (3-13) took three wickets each.
This victory assures Zimbabwe a spot in the final African qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup. Five of the other seven spots have already been filled by Namibia, Uganda, Tanzania, Malawi, and Kenya.
Gambia, 95th in the world rankings, became the first team in cricket history to lose two T20 internationals by walkover, having been unable to fulfil matches against Rwanda and Seychelles.
Source: BBC