Zimbabwe crushed as India set up WI knockout clash
India bounced back from their loss to South Africa with a dominant 72-run victory over Zimbabwe in Chennai, keeping their T20 World Cup qualification hopes alive. The win sets up a virtual quarterfinal against West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday (March 1) and confirms South Africa's place in the semifinals.
India's batters dismantled the Zimbabwean attack, posting the tournament's highest total. Sanju Samson, returning to the top order, hit two sixes in the first two overs before falling for 24. Abhishek Sharma found form as India raced to 46/0 in three overs and 80 in the Powerplay, aided by Zimbabwe's sloppy fielding and missed catches.
Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav maintained the momentum. After Abhishek's dismissal past fifty, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya unleashed an assault, adding 80 runs in the final five overs. Hardik smashed the last two balls for sixes, bringing up his 23-ball fifty and pushing India past 250.
Zimbabwe, set a target of 257, managed only 25 runs in the first four overs. Brian Bennett stood out, taking on Jasprit Bumrah and later smashing Shivam Dube for 26 runs in an over. He formed a 72-run partnership with Sikandar Raza, but Arshdeep Singh broke the stand and took two more wickets with precise yorkers. Bennett finished unbeaten on 97, falling just short of a century as Zimbabwe ended well short.
Brief scores:
India 256/4 in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 55, Hardik Pandya 50*; Sikandar Raza 1-29) beat Zimbabwe 184/6 in 20 overs (Brian Bennett 97*; Arshdeep Singh 3-24) by 72 runs.
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