India Hits 256/4
A remarkable game with the bats out for India when 17 sixes hammered them to a net score of 256/4 — India’s highest at a T20 World Cup and second highest overall. The batting was very strong at the top at the beginning where Abhishek Sharma found his place. Cameos from Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav came after an excellent blitz from Hardik Pandya with 50* and Tilak Varma with a stellar 44* on just 16 deliveries.
Brian Bennett in response added an undefeated 97, but Zimbabwe finished with 184 for six in their 20 overs. Arshdeep Singh, India pacer, was the most successful bowler with a total of three for 24.
SKY Praises Team Positivity
Indian Captain Suryakumar Yadav said, “I think we wanted to leave everything behind. We didn’t think too much about what we did in the league stage or in the last game in Ahmedabad (vs South Africa). Our video analyst had prepared a slide for all the batters and bowlers, highlighting what we’ve done well over the past year. We looked at that, took a lot of positivity from it, and came here with clarity" regarding the win.
"With contributions from the top order right down to number seven, I think there was hardly anything missing in our performance. To be very honest, we could have been a little more clinical with the ball. But at the end of the day, a win is a win, and we’ll take it as we move forward," he added.
Do-or-Die vs Windies
India and West Indies have both scored two points each after their own number of matches. Windies score the second place and receive their better Net Run Rate. Each group will face off against the other in a virtual quarterfinal on Sunday. Though the contest will be a Super Eight game , it will be an eliminator of sorts. The winner of the struggle will make it to the semi-finals and the loser will be eliminated.
Regarding India’s do-or-die contest against the West Indies, the skipper remarked, "We’ll definitely tighten a few screws when we go and play the West Indies cricket team. Once we reach Kolkata, we’ll sit down and plan properly for that game.”
India & Zim Playing XIs
India XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
Zimbabwe XI: Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Brian Bennett, Dion Myers, Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza (c), Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Brad Evans, Tinotenda Maposa, Blessing Muzarabani, Richard Ngarava