Australia were dealt an early blow in their quest to reach the Super Eight stage of the T20 World Cup after the depleted former champions crashed to a 23-run defeat by Zimbabwe in Colombo on Friday.
Opening batsman Brian Bennett's unbeaten 64 helped Zimbabwe set a target of 170 at the R Premadasa Stadium, and Australia got off to a disastrous start as they sought a second victory to take control of Group B.
The 2021 winners lost four wickets inside the first five overs before Glenn Maxwell responded with a battling 31, but his departure left them in deeper trouble at 106-5 with little more than five overs left.
Matt Renshaw attempted to steady the ship again during his innings of 65 but Zimbabwe's bowlers, led by player of the match Blessing Muzarabani with career-best figures (4-17) and Brad Evans (3-23), turned up the heat to dismiss Australia for 146 in 19.3 overs.
"I'm very happy, but above all very proud," said Zimbabwe skipper Sikandar Raza, who struggled with cramp in punishing humidity midway through the match and had to come off.
"It was nice to watch from outside and see how the team went about their business (showing) the culture and the unity that we have created over a long time.
"A win on top of that is unbelievable. It looked like the boys wanted it, and I think they really did, and they deserve to win today."
The result leaves Group B in the balance after two games each, with Australia two points behind Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka, who have maximum points.
Australia take on Sri Lanka on Monday while Zimbabwe meet Ireland the following day.
