Chennai, February 26 Opener Brian Bennett remained unbeaten on 43 as Zimbabwe reached 73/2 after 10 overs in their record chase of 257 in the must-win T20 World Cup clash against India, here on Thursday.
Bennett smashed four fours and two sixes in his 28-ball 43 not out, but Zimbabwe still need a Herculean effort of 184 runs from the remaining 10 overs.
Returning to the XI, Indian vice-captain Axar Patel struck in his opening over, dismissing Tadiwanashe Marumani, who failed to capitalize on a reprieve by Rinku Singh in the previous over, and got out for 20.
Varun Chakravarthy also got a breakthrough, dismissing Dion Myers for 6.
Earlier, Abhishek Sharma was back at his explosive best with a 30-ball 55 (4x4, 4x6), while Hardik Pandya bludgeoned a 23-ball unbeaten fifty (2x4, 4x6) as India racked up 256/4 after Zimbabwe opted to bowl.
This was India's highest-ever total in T20 World Cups and also the highest in this ICC showpiece.
