Indian cricket team (ANI)
Not only did India win on Thursday night, they produced one of the most complete batting performances in T20 World Cup history. The 256 for four against Zimbabwe was their highest total in the tournament and came with 17 sixes, the most India has hit in a T20 World Cup innings, surpassing the 15 they hit against Australia at Gros Isle in 2024.
India have now smashed 63 runs in this edition, their highest in a single World Cup, with West Indies only 66 runs ahead overall.What emerged most was the collective intention. All six Indian batsmen recorded a strike rate above 150, marking the first time in the history of the T20 World Cup that six or more players have scored more than 20 runs at this pace in the same innings. There were only 26 dot balls in a total of 20 balls, which was the fewest innings completed in the tournament.
The pressure never let up and Zimbabwe were forced to chase hides almost the entire time.Abhishek Sharma set the tone. Three ducks after his return from illness, he found his rhythm with a 26-ball fifty that reignited India’s charge. Sanju Samson provided early fluency, Ishan Kishan kept the momentum intact and after that
Hardik Pandya
Tilak Varma dealt the final blows. Pandya powered his way to an unbeaten fifty, while Tilak, who faced questions about his strike rate, hit 44 off 16 balls at a strike rate of 275.
India scored 80 runs in the last five overs to put the game out of reach.Zimbabwe got their own highlight with Brian Bennett’s unbeaten 97, the second highest individual score against India in a T20 World Cup after Chris Gayle’s 98 in 2010. Bennett’s attack included 26 more runs than Shivam Dube, whose 46 runs conceded in his first two matches was the most by a bowler at that stage of a T20 World Cup match.In the bigger picture, this was India rediscovering its attacking identity after a heavy defeat to South Africa. The sixes, strike rates and minimum dot balls reflect a team that recalibrated quickly and responded strongly, keeping their semi-final hopes alive in emphatic fashion.
