KEY POINTS
- Adam Zampa claims 4-21 named Player of the Match after wicketless tournament.
- Mitchell Marsh smashes unbeaten 64 as Australia chase down 105 in 9.4 overs.
- Victory too late for eliminated Australia; first group-stage exit since 2009.
PALLEKELE, Sri Lanka: Australia delivered a commanding performance in their final outing of the T20 World Cup, thrashing Oman by nine wickets with 62 balls to spare in a dead rubber at the Pallekele International Stadium on Friday.
Asked to bowl first by captain Mitchell Marsh after winning the toss, Australia produced their most disciplined bowling effort of the tournament, bundling out Oman for just 104 in 16.2 overs before chasing down the target in a mere 9.4 overs.
The victory, however, came too little too late for the 2009 champions, who had already been eliminated from the tournament following Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka’s qualification from Group B.
For Australia, it marked their first group-stage exit since 2009.
A superb spell of 4/21 from Adam Zampa was the key in helping Australia record a big win over Oman👌
He wins the @aramco POTM🏅
📝: https://t.co/1JtAuxmaqr pic.twitter.com/el3q0WmAid
— ICC (@ICC) February 20, 2026
Adam Zampa, who had endured a wicketless tournament until tonight, returned to form in spectacular fashion, claiming figures of 4-21 from 3.2 overs to be named Player of the Match.
The leg-spinner removed Hammad Mirza, Mohammad Nadeem, Shakeel Ahmed, and Shafiq Jan to run through the Oman middle and lower order.
Xavier Bartlett provided the perfect start, striking on his very first delivery to remove opener Aamir Kaleem for a golden duck.
Bartlett finished with 2-27 from his four overs, while Nathan Ellis (1-14) and Marcus Stoinis (1-16) also chipped in.
Glenn Maxwell complemented the attack beautifully with 2-13 from his three tidy overs, removing Wasim Ali, who top-scored with a battling 32 off 33 balls, and Jiten Ramanandi in quick succession.
Oman’s innings never gained momentum after the early loss of Kaleem.
Captain Jatinder Singh (17 off 15) and Karan Sonavale (12 off 11) added 24 runs for the second wicket before Ellis dismissed Sonavale.
Bartlett returned to claim the crucial wicket of Jatinder Singh in the fifth over, reducing the Associate nation to 39 for 3.
Hammad Mirza showed some resistance with 16 off 13 balls, including one six, before becoming Zampa’s first victim in the eighth over.
From there, the Australian spinners tightened their grip, and Oman folded for 104 with their last two wickets falling in consecutive deliveries.
Marsh and Head Feast on Modest Target
Chasing a modest 105 for victory, Australia made light work of the target, reaching 108 for 1 in just 9.4 overs.
Captain Mitchell Marsh led from the front with a scintillating unbeaten 64 off just 33 balls, smashing seven fours and four sixes in a dominant display of power-hitting.
Travis Head provided aggressive support, scoring 32 off 19 deliveries before being caught and bowled by Shakeel Ahmed in the eighth over with the score at 93.
Josh Inglis, promoted to number three, finished the proceedings in style, remaining not out on 12 off just six balls, including two fours.
Australia race to a commanding win to finish their #T20WorldCup campaign 👏
📝: https://t.co/1JtAuxmaqr pic.twitter.com/7g3U95oUr2
— ICC (@ICC) February 20, 2026
Consolation in a Campaign to Forget
While the victory provided some relief, it did little to mask Australia’s disappointing campaign.
The 2009 champions had suffered humiliating defeats to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka earlier in the tournament, crashing out at the group stage for the first time in 17 years.
For Oman, the tournament ended without a win, having lost all three of their Group B encounters against Zimbabwe, Ireland, and Sri Lanka before Friday’s defeat to Australia.
The focus now shifts to the Super Eight stage, where Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka will represent Group B, while Australia return home to ponder what went wrong in a campaign that promised much but delivered little.
