India wins big, thrashing Zimbabwe by 72 runs, eyeing the semis of the T20I World Cup

On Thursday, 26 February 2026, India won their second Super 8s match against Zimbabwe in Chennai. The match was hosted at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, which proved to be an advantage for India. After winning the toss, Zimbabwe chose to field, only to be outsmarted by India. India put up a total of 256 on the scoreboard, the highest in the Men’s T20I World Cup this year so far.

Abhishek Sharma scored a wonderful 55 (30), bringing his form back after getting dismissed at 0 in the beginning 3 games of the tournament. Sanju Samson opened alongside him in today’s game and scored 24 (15), followed by Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav (C), who both made 38 (24) and 33 (13). But what came out of the syllabus was the partnership of 84 runs between Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma. Both played explosively in the death overs. Hardik Pandya 50* (23) and Tilak Varma 44* (16) together stood not out till the last ball of the 1st innings. At the end of the 1st innings, India scored 256/4, the highest runs in this tournament so far.

In the second innings, Zimbabwe put up a brave fight with their opener Brian Bennett scoring an impressive knock of 97* (59). But their batting lineup got overpowered by the Indian bowlers, with Arshdeep Singh picking up 3 wickets, followed by Varun Chakravarthy, Axar Patel, and Shivam Dube taking 1 wicket each. Eventually stopping Zimbabwe at 184/6, winning the game by a huge margin of 72 runs.

Hardik Pandya picked up the ‘man of the match’ for his impressive 50 not out in just 23 balls, smashing two 4s and four 6s with a strike rate of 217. Akashdeep Singh became the first player to take 35 wickets in the T20 World Cup, surpassing Bumrah’s record of 33.

Previously, India lost to South Africa, which reduced their net run rate to -3,800. Today’s win against Zimbabwe brings back their net run rate to -0.100. However, this sets the perfect stage for a virtual quarter-final with India taking on the West Indies on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata for the final deciding match of the Super 8s. Both West Indies and India sit on the table with 2 points, one win and one loss.