Australia's T20 World Cup comes to an end after Pallekele washout
Australia still have one more game to play, against Oman, but it will now be a dead rubber
Andrew Fidel Fernando
Feb 17, 2026, 1:04 PM • 4 hrs ago
Australia will be heading home early after two losses in their first three games this T20 World Cup • ICC/Getty Images
Day-long drizzle in Pallekele knocked Australia out of the T20 World Cup, and sent Zimbabwe into the Super Eight. Thanks to Ireland and Zimbabwe sharing points from their washed out encounter, in which not even the toss was possible, Zimbabwe now have five points on the table, which puts them out of Australia's reach.
With Sri Lanka having qualified for the Super Eight via their victory over Australia, Group B's qualifiers are now decided. Zimbabwe will take Australia's seeded place (X2) in the Super Eight, which means they will play West Indies in Mumbai on February 23, India in Chennai on February 26, and South Africa in Delhi on March 01.
Sri Lanka, meanwhile, play England and New Zealand at home. Their third opponent is not yet decided.
Although out of contention for the Super Eight, Australia do not exit the tournament yet - they still have a dead rubber against Oman to play in Pallekele on Friday. Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka also play each other in Colombo on Thursday.
Pallekele still has four further matches to host. The weather forecast for the next 10 days suggests there will be further rain around.
Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf