Abhishek Sharma scored his maiden half-century in the T20 World Cup.
| Photo Credit: B. Jothi Ramalingam
The template of posting massive runs and capitalising on the resultant scoreboard pressure on the rival was executed to a nicety as India owned the night. The host’s cause was also helped by Zimbabwe’s decision to field on winning the toss.
Follow the highlights India vs Zimbabwe
At a raucous M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, the defending champion prevailed over Sikandar Raza’s men by 72 runs in the ICC T20 World Cup Super Eight Group 1 match here on Thursday (February 26, 2026). India’s 256 for four proved too high a peak, and Zimbabwe finished with 184 for six.
Openers Brian Bennett and Tadiwanashe Marumani consolidated initially, and after the latter was dismissed by Axar Patel, the former shifted gears. The left-arm spinner was clattered past and over the ropes but Varun Chakaravarthy prised out Dion Myers.
Brutal assault
The visitors, though, leant on Bennett (97 n.o.) and he reached his fifty, clouting Jasprit Bumrah for six. He was brutal on Shivam Dube in an over that cost 26 runs. Raza allied with Bennett for a while, before Arshdeep Singh grabbed three wickets, and India stayed dominant.
Earlier, the crowd rooted for Sanju Samson, the latest recruit of the Chennai Super Kings, and Abhishek Sharma too had his fans. The openers set a frenzied pace with Samson hoisting Richard Ngavara. Blessing Muzarabani too suffered the same fate as Samson galloped.
Meanwhile, Abhishek drilled Tinotenda Maposa past covers, and then lofted high.
However, Samson found his pull finding the fielder in the deep. India already had 48 in 3.4 overs, and immediately, southpaws Abhishek and Ishan Kishan forged a partnership yielding 72 from 42 deliveries.
The Men in Blue were on the ascendancy, and hearteningly for them, Abhishek (55) found his mojo. There was a sliver of luck when Kishan was dropped on 26 as Tashinga Musekiwa failed to hold on.
A relieved Kishan hit Raza for a four and a six, and then edged the spinner and retreated.
Suryakumar Yadav strode in and shuffled around for his scoops. Dropped on eight by Muzarabani, the skipper watched Abhishek leave, but the merry streak continued as Hardik Pandya (50 n.o.) sauntered in.
The all-rounder launched Ryan Burl into the skies, and after Suryakumar departed, Tilak Varma lit up the skies with luminous shots. There was power and disdain as the left-hander waded into the rival attack and India’s firm grip on the contest never wavered despite Bennett’s lone-warrior act.
Published – February 26, 2026 11:12 pm IST
