Sanju Samson was out similar fashion: The India vs Zimbabwe match is ongoing as the two teams clash against each other in a must-win game on Thursday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. Both teams came to this match after losing their first Super 8 games. The co-hosts were asked to bat first after Sikandar Raza won the toss on a good batting wicket.

The India National Cricket Team made two changes since their last loss against South Africa last Sunday. Sanju Samson and Axar Patel were brought back in place of Rinku Singh and Washington Sundar. Sanju got his second match of the competition, and he gave the exact start that India needed to get going in this match.

Sanju Samson failed to convery his start

Sanju Samson, however, could not convert his start of 24 runs off 15 deliveries into a big score. He was dismissed in the 3.4 over, getting caught at deep mid-wicket, with Blessing Muzarabani picking up the wicket of the explosive opener. However, he gave India a good start with 48 runs partnership for the first wicket.

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However, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar made a critical assessment of Sanju Samson’s dismissal, as the former found a similar kind of pattern in his mode of dismissal. Teams have targeted that area to cramp Sanju Samson on the leg side as he has been dismissed multiple times playing a shot on the leg side while pulling or hooking fast bowlers.

He will be disappointed, because he’s got out so many times- Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar said while he was commentating on StarSports, “He will be disappointed, because he’s got out so many times in that region. Everybody knows bowl short, have a deep square leg. And again, it is the height of Muzarabani, which has allowed the ball to bounce a little bit more.”

“That’s why not quite off the middle of the bat. And so he got off to avery good start, 24 off 15. But he’s holed out in the deep once again. And India have lost their first wicket at 48.”

Indian batters were on song against Zimbabwe

Coming to the game, India were off to a flyer, as they scored 80 runs in the powerplay with the loss of one wicket. Abhishek Sharma might just found his rhythm back, scoring a 55 off 30 as the Southpaw took his time and smashed four sixes and the same number of boundaries in his blistering knock. Ishan Kishan once again was off to a flyer as he played a knock of 38 off 24 deliveries.

Suryakumar Yadav also played a crucial knock of 33 off 14 balls. Later on, Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma were absolutely lethal as they scored 55 in the last three overs. Hardik scored 50 off 23 balls, hitting two fours and four sixes, and Tilak Varma scored 44 off 26 balls, smashing three fours and four sixes.

This led India to post a massive total of 256/4 in their 20 overs. This is the highest score of the 2026 T20 World Cup and second highest score in the T20 World Cups.

Also Read: India post second highest total in T20 World Cup history

Pakistan’s defence minister on Friday declared “open war” on the Afghan Taliban government, following renewed clashes along the shared border. “Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between us and you,” Khawaja Asif posted on X.The escalation came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani troops along the frontier, prompting Islamabad to launch air strikes on key Afghan cities including Kabul and Kandahar. “After airstrikes in Kabul, Kandahar and other provinces, once again wide-ranging retaliatory operations were launched against the positions of Pakistani soldiers, in the directions of Kandahar and Helmand as well,” Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X.Pakistan confirmed its attacks on Afghan targets, with Information Minister Attaullah Tarar posting, “Afghan Taliban defence targets were targeted in Kabul, Paktia (province) and Kandahar.” Both militaries reported dozens of casualties in the ongoing border violence, which follows multiple clashes and air strikes in recent months.AFP journalists in Kabul heard jets and multiple loud explosions, followed by gunfire over more than two hours. In Kandahar, where Supreme Leader Hibatullah Akhundzada is based, an AFP reporter also reported hearing jets overhead. The Taliban government confirmed the air strikes but said there were no casualties.Earlier, Mujahid announced “large-scale offensive operations” at the border “in response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military.” Afghan authorities reported eight soldiers killed during the land offensive, while civilians were wounded near the Torkham border crossing. “A mortar shell has hit the camp and unfortunately seven of our refugees have been wounded, and the condition of one woman is serious,” said Qureshi Badlun, Nangarhar province’s information chief.The border has been largely closed since fighting in October, which left more than 70 dead on both sides. Several ceasefire attempts, mediated by Qatar, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia, have failed, although Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militants who target Pakistan.Pakistan’s air strikes came days after a series of deadly attacks in Pakistan, including a suicide bombing on a Shiite mosque in Islamabad that killed at least 40, claimed by the Islamic State group’s Khorasan chapter, which also claimed a deadly attack in Kabul last month.

Suryakumar Yadav (PTI Photo)

NEW DELHI: It was a must-win game for India to stay alive in the T20 World Cup semifinal race, and they delivered in emphatic fashion. Defending champions India crushed Zimbabwe by 72 runs in their Super Eights clash at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, keeping their hopes alive while giving their net run rate a much-needed boost.Batting first, India posted a mammoth 256 for four, thanks to a blazing 55 from opener Abhishek Sharma and an unbeaten 50 from Hardik Pandya. Zimbabwe, who had stunned Australia and Sri Lanka to reach the Super Eights, could only manage 184 for six in reply, leaving India in complete control and setting up a winner-takes-all clash against the West Indies on Sunday.

“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. 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,” Suryakumar Yadav said after the match.“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.”The victory also confirmed South Africa’s place in the semifinals after their nine-wicket win over West Indies.“We’ll definitely tighten a few screws when we go and play the West Indies cricket team. I don’t want to take any credit away from the Zimbabwean batters. I think they batted beautifully. Yes, the wicket was good, but the way they approached the innings — taking their time in the powerplay and then accelerating smartly — was impressive,” Suryakumar added.India’s left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh starred with the ball, returning 3 for 24 from his four overs. Zimbabwe’s Brian Bennett was left with the consolation of an unbeaten 97, the highest individual score by a Zimbabwean in T20 World Cup history, as his side bowed out of semifinal contention despite a promising start.“Credit goes to them as well. From a bowling point of view, though, we could have been a little smarter with certain options at key moments. In situations like this, we need to be courageous with our decisions. There’s no option other than taking the positive route. Once we reach Kolkata, we’ll sit down and plan properly for that game. For now, it’s about taking a day off, travelling, and relaxing,” Surya concluded.

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court on Thursday banned the Class 8 social science textbook that had a section on corruption in judiciary, prohibited its circulation in all forms and asked the school education secretary and NCERT chairperson to show cause why contempt proceedings not be initiated against them despite the Centre tendering an unconditional and unqualified apology for the fiasco.The second day of hearing in the case saw solicitor general Tushar Mehta, right at the outset, apoologising for “the unpardonable mistake” committed by two persons who authored the book and said the govt has taken a decision to permanently bar them from involvement in preparation of any textbook.

SC, however, said that it would not accept the apology at this stage and would inquire whether there was a deliberate and calculated design to denigrate the institution and harm its reputation. SC: Ensure all copies, hard or soft, are seized, removed from public access A shot has been fired mindlessly and the judiciary is bleeding. The design was to defame the judiciary by telling students, their parents and teachers, the entire society, about corruption. As the head of the institution, it is my duty to protect the institution from such macabre and baseless insinuations,” CJI Kant said.The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi ordered, “The NCERT in coordination with the Union and state education depts is directed to ensure that all copies of the book (hard or soft) currently in circulation, whether held in storage, retail outlets, or educational institutions, are seized and removed from public access. Compliance be filed.” Further, it said, “It shall be personal responsibility of NCERT director and the principal of every school where the book has reached to effectuate immediate seizure and sealing of all copies of the book in their premises and submit a compliance report. Ensure that no instruction is imparted based on the subject book. Principal secretaries of all states are to comply.” It asked the NCERT to file compliance within two weeks.“As an abundant precaution, a complete blanket ban is hereby imposed on any further publication, reprinting or digital dissemination of the book. Any attempt to circumvent this order through electronic means or altered titles shall be seen as direct interference, wilful breach and defiance of directions,” it said.The CJI-headed bench directed NCERT to reveal the name of persons who were entrusted with preparing the textbook, their credentials and submit the minutes of the meetings where the contents of the book were deliberated upon and finalised. The court posted the matter for further hearing on March 11.The bench said the manner in which corruption in judiciary is portrayed in the book by imputing several complaints against judges, a deliberate impression was given that the judiciary has not acted upon those complaints. The solicitor general said the way pendency figures are quoted to mention in the book that ‘justice delayed is justice denied’ appears to teach the children that justice is denied in India. Nothing could be farther from truth, he said.Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, A M Singhvi and Vikas Singh termed the portion in the textbook scandalous, calculated and designed to selectively target judiciary to denigrate its image. CJI Kant said politicians, bureaucrats and other professionals are being regularly convicted for various offences and yet judiciary has been blatantly targeted. He said, “The authors forgot that judiciary has played a stellar role in protecting the Constitution, the fundamental rights of citizens and passed series of orders over the last 75 years to protect democracy, not to mention its stellar role in making it possible to provide free legal aid to poor and marginalised sections of the society.” The CJI said on the day the news report was published, the SC secretary general had sought a clarification from the NCERT director.

Indian cricket team (ANI)

India did not just win on Thursday night, they produced one of the most complete batting performances in their T20 World Cup history. The 256 for four against Zimbabwe was their highest total in the tournament and it came with 17 sixes, the joint most India have hit in a T20 World Cup innings, going past the 15 they struck against Australia in Gros Islet in 2024. India have now smashed 63 sixes in this edition, their highest in a single World Cup, with only West Indies on 66 ahead of them overall.What stood out even more was the collective intent. All six Indian batters scored at a strike rate above 150, the first time in T20 World Cup history that six or more players have scored 20-plus runs at that tempo in the same innings. There were only 26 dot balls in the entire 20 overs, equalling the fewest in a completed innings at the tournament. The pressure never dipped and Zimbabwe were forced to chase leather almost throughout.Abhishek Sharma set the tone. After three ducks following 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 then Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma delivered the knockout blows. Pandya powered his way to an unbeaten fifty, while Tilak, who had faced questions over his strike rate, hammered 44 off 16 balls at a strike rate of 275. India scored 80 runs in the final five overs to put the game out of reach.Zimbabwe had their own highlight through Brian Bennett’s unbeaten 97, the second highest individual score against India in T20 World Cups after Chris Gayle’s 98 in 2010. Bennett’s assault included a 26-run over off Shivam Dube, whose 46 runs conceded in his first two overs became the most by a bowler at that stage of a T20 World Cup match.In the larger picture, this was India rediscovering their attacking identity after a heavy defeat to South Africa. The sixes, the strike rates and the minimal dot balls all reflected a team that recalibrated quickly and struck back with authority, keeping their semifinal hopes alive in emphatic fashion.