Mumbai, February 23 – Zimbabwe captain Sikander Raza won the toss and opted to bowl first against the West Indies in a Group 1 Super 8 match at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday.
Both teams made one change to their playing XIs. Zimbabwe brought in Richard Ngarava in place of Hamilton Masakaza. The West Indies also included Romario Shepherd and left out Roston Chase.
Raza said he chose to bowl first because the pitch is very conducive for chasing.
"It seems like a pitch that is very suitable for chasing. It looks like a good pitch, but we want to have a good chance of making early inroads...One change: Richard Ngarava has been declared fit," Raza said at the toss.
West Indies captain Shai Hope also said he would have preferred to bowl first. "We need to play good cricket today. Romario Shepherd comes back in, and Roston Chase goes out," he added.
With India losing to South Africa in the first match of Group 1, both the West Indies and Zimbabwe will be looking to win this match, as that will improve their chances of reaching the semifinals.
Playing XIs:
Zimbabwe: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Dion Myers, Sikander Raza (c), Ryan Burl, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Graeme Cremer, Richard Ngarava, Blessing Muzarabani
West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (wk, c), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie.
