India on Thursday revived its title defence in a Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup, quashing Zimbabwe to keep its semifinal hopes alive.
Abhishek Sharma and Hardik Pandya smashed half-centuries for India's must-win match, notching up the high score that made Zimbabwe struggle.
Abhishek smashed a brisk 30-ball 55 to provide early momentum, adding 48 runs for the opening wicket with Sanju Samson (24) after Zimbabwe opted to bowl.
Plenty of positives for India in a big #T20WorldCup win over Zimbabwe 👌
— ICC (@ICC) February 26, 2026
Tournament broadcast details 📺 https://t.co/NPykWM7qqY pic.twitter.com/FJxiyuVctI
Ishan Kishan (38) and Suryakumar Yadav (33) chipped in with rapid fire contributions before Pandya hammered an unbeaten 23-ball 50 under crucial circumstances to power India to a whopping 256 for four—the highest total of this edition of the men's cricket tournament.
Tilak Varma contributed 44 not out from 14 balls as he and Pandya put on an unbroken 84-run stand, against just 31 deliveries.
#WATCH | Chennai, Tamil | T20 World Cup 2026 | India beats Zimbabwe by 72 runs | A fan of the Indian Cricket team says, "It happened exactly as we had hoped. We are three matches away from lifting our World Cup trophy... I wanted India to win the toss and bat first because we… pic.twitter.com/SOCEunOBsp
— ANI (@ANI) February 26, 2026
As for the other side, Brian Bennett shot to the top-scorer position with an unbeaten 97, but Zimbabwe were still restricted to 184 for six in their 20 overs.
Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh was the most successful bowler with figures of three for 24.
For Zimbabwe, Richard Ngarava (1/62), Blessing Muzarabani (1/43), Tinotenda Maposa (1/40) and skipper Sikandar Raza (1/29) were among the wicket-takers, who still struggled to keep back India's attacking onslaught.
Yet, India captain Suryakumar Yadav was reportedly not happy with the team's bowling performance at Chepauk, saying that the team "could have been more clinical with the ball" and a "little bit smarter with our options", as per a PTI report.
"A win is a win. We will tighten our screws when we play the West Indies," he added, lauding Zimbabwe's batters, who "batted smartly".
Zimbabwe's captain Sikandar Raza noted that his team needed to fire on all cylinders to challenge the bigger teams. With the loss, they have now been eliminated from the semifinals race.
"A lot of youngsters, most of them are playing their first World Cup, first time ever in India for us. Not that I want to use that as an excuse, but certainly the lessons from the last game, from a batting point of view, I thought we took them really well," Raza said.
Zimbabwe will end their campaign against South Africa in Delhi on March 1, while India's next scheduled T20 World Cup Super 8 match is against West Indies on March 1 as well.
