India beat Zimbabwe in the Super 8 clash at the 2026 T20 World Cup by 72 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai. In a must-win game for the Men in Blue, they came out hard after their humiliating loss against South Africa. India, after being invited to bat first, posted 256/4 in their 20 overs.
Suryakumar Yadav’s side started the match on a positive note as they made two changes in the team, bringing in Sanju Samson and Axar Patel. Sanju, along with Abhishek Sharma, gave a good start as they posted the highest opening stand in this World Cup with 48 runs.
Abhishek Sharma finally found his form back
Abhishek Sharma also got his maiden fifty in the T20 World Cup, after a string of low score he scored 55 off 30 balls. A 50 off 23 balls from Hardik Pandya and a fiery 44 off 16 balls helped the side to post a target of 257 runs. Hardik was the Player of the Match with his all round performamce.
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Zimbabwe had a decent start while chasing the target. Brian Bennett was excellent with the bat, as he was unbeaten with the score of 97 off 59 balls. The Chevrons could only score 184/6, and Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers for India, picking 3/24 in his four-over spell.
Our video analyst had prepared a slide for all the batters- Suryakumar Yadav
After the match, team India captain Suryakumar Yadav talked about how they prepared for this game, as they had a long discussion with the analyst after the loss against the Proteas.
“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. 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,” said the India skipper.
I think there was hardly anything missing in our performance- Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav also praised that all the batters took the responsibility of scoring runs in this game. He also pointed out the faults of the side made while bowling in the second innings, as he said they should have been clinical with their bowling.
“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
We need to be courageous with our decisions- Suryakumar Yadav
Finally he concluded saying, “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. Credit goes to them as well.”
Suryakumar Yadav stated, “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.”
Also Read: India Qualification Scenario after Zimbabwe Clash in T20 World Cup 2026
