Chennai, Feb 26 – Abhishek Sharma and Hardik Pandya scored brilliant half-centuries, while Arshdeep Singh took 3-24, as India defeated Zimbabwe by 72 runs in their Super Eights match at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday.
This victory eliminated Zimbabwe from the competition while securing South Africa's place in the semifinals. India's strong performance after an earlier 76-run loss to South Africa puts them back on track, but it sets up a crucial clash against West Indies in Kolkata on March 1, a match that could determine their progress to the final.
Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza won the toss and opted to bowl, hoping to exploit the conditions that favored his bowlers. However, India's batsmen quickly took control, scoring 17 sixes in total.
Sanju Samson started the innings with a quick 24, followed by an impressive 55 from Abhishek Sharma, who looked back to his best. Hardik Pandya then ended the innings with an unbeaten 50, and Tilak Varma contributed with 44.
Zimbabwe struggled to chase down the target of 257. Brian Bennett's 97 was the only significant contribution, but it wasn't enough as India bowled them out for 184.
From the first over, Rinku Singh replaced a left-handed batsman at the top to prevent Zimbabwe from using a spinner in the powerplay. He hit a six off Richard Ngarava, followed by another maximum off Blessing Muzarabani.
Abhishek started cautiously before a boundary off Tinotenda Maposa woke him up. He then hit a four and a six off a slower ball, signaling his readiness to score. But Muzarabani got him out in the fourth over with a mistimed shot. Abhishek continued to play well, hitting boundaries against Brad Evans and getting a thick edge for four.
Ishan Kishan joined in, smashing Ngarava over fine leg and pulling with authority. Musekiwa then gave him a reprieve, but Kishan continued to score, striking Raza for four and six in consecutive balls. Raza then got him out with a catch in the short third man.
Suryakumar Yadav then came in and hit a four off Raza, a six off Evans, and a six off Maposa, helping him reach 50 off 26 balls. Abhishek then continued to score boundaries until he was dismissed for 55, ending with a slow ball to long-on.
Pandya then smashed a massive six off Ryan Burl, and Suryakumar continued to keep the tempo going before being caught at deep cover. Pandya and Varma then hit 11 boundaries between them, with Pandya reaching his fifty on the final ball, ensuring India's record for the highest score in this tournament.
Zimbabwe's chase never gained the necessary momentum, but they did manage to have a wicket-less powerplay. Opener Tadiwanashe Marumani struggled early and was dropped on 17 by Ishan Kishan. Marumani then couldn't capitalize and was dismissed for 20 when he sliced to cover-point off Axar Patel's second ball of the game.
Though Bennett continued to hit boundaries and sixes, including a flat six over long-on, India kept things tight, with Varun Chakaravarthy getting Dion Myers out to deep mid-wicket.
By the time Sikandar Raza joined Bennett, the asking rate had become too high. Despite that, the duo continued to score, especially with Shivam Dube conceding 26 runs in his first over.
Arshdeep then got Raza out to long-on, followed by Ryan Burl being dismissed lbw and Tony Monyonga being castled with a yorker. Though Dube got Tashinga Musekiwa out in the final over, Bennett hit a six and four on the last two balls to carry his bat throughout the innings.
While India won, which significantly improved their net run rate, Dube's bowling returns will be a concern for the think-tank. He conceded 46 runs in just two overs, the most expensive two-over spell in T20 World Cup history, while Chakaravarthy went for 35 in his four overs.
India will need to improve their bowling performance before facing West Indies on Sunday, as they know exactly what's at stake – a semi-finals spot.
Brief scores: India 256/4 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 55, Hardik Pandya 50 not out; Sikandar Raza 1-29, Tinotenda Maposa 1-40) beat Zimbabwe 184/6 in 20 overs (Brian Bennett 97 not out, Sikandar Raza 31; Arshdeep Singh 3-24) by 72 runs
