Chennai: Co-hosts and defending champions India registered a comprehensive 72-run victory over Zimbabwe in the Super Eights match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Thursday.

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza’s decision to field first backfired as his team’s bowling department posted 256/4 in 20 overs.

Left-arm opener Abhishek Sharma and veteran all-rounder Hardik Pandya scored half-centuries.

Sharma scored 55 off 30 balls with 4 sixes and several fours, followed by Pandya’s unbeaten 50 off 23 balls with 4 sixes and 2 fours.

Richard Ngarawa, Dinodenda Maposa, Blessing Musarabani and Captain Raza can take one wicket each for Zimbabwe.

Chasing a target of 257 runs, Zimbabwe posted 184/6 in 20 overs thanks to Brian Bennett’s unbeaten half-century.

The right-handed opener struggled for Zimbabwe against the home side, scoring an unbeaten 97 off 59 balls with 8 fours and 6 sixes.

Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh was India’s best bowler with 3 wickets for 24 runs in his four overs, while Varun Chakraborty, Shivam Dubey and Axar Patel took one wicket each.

The win marked India’s first win at the Super Eights stage and puts them in contention for a semi-final berth as they sit third with two points from two games.

Conversely, the result of the crucial Group 1 match also marked Zimbabwe’s exit as they are bottom with zero points from two matches with a negative net run rate of 4.475.

Also, India’s victory pushed South Africa to the knockouts as the Proteas sit top of Group 1 with four points from two matches and a stagnant net run rate of 2.890.

As a result, India’s remaining Super Eight game against West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday has now become a virtual quarter-final as both teams have picked up two points from as many games.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s Group 1 double-header between South Africa and Zimbabwe leaves the Chevrons out of contention as the Proteas are already guaranteed a T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final berth.

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