T20 WC 2026, Super 8: Men in Blue stay on track with a huge win; South Africa qualify for semis

Photo: ©BCCI

The Indian Cricket team kept themselves on track with a huge 72-run win over Zimbabwe in their Super 8 fixture in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 on Thursday at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Not only that, with India's win, South

Africa have also qualified for the semi-finals. This means India's fixture against West Indies on 1st March at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata will be a virtual quarter-final for both sides.

Sanju and Axar made a comeback in the XI

Zimbabwean captain Sikandar Raza won the toss and elected to field first against the men in blue. As per the speculations, India had brought in Sanju Samson at the top of the order, which pushed Ishan Kishan to number 3. While Rinku Singh was dropped from the side, Tilak Varma played in the lower mid-order for India. Axar Patel replaced Washington Sundar as the lone spin bowling all-rounder for India.

Abhishek returned to form

India lost Sanju Samson in the 4th over after a quick start from the Kerala wicket-keeper batter, who will find his new home in Chennai during the upcoming IPL 2026. After Sanju's dismissal, Ishan Kishan joined Abhishek Sharma, who was judged by many experts as someone who does not understand the situation of the game. However, Sharma kept his natural game intact and went after the Zimbabwean attack from the word go.

Sharma was relentless, clobbering a 30-ball 55 that featured six boundaries and five towering sixes. Alongside Ishan Kishan (38), he ensured India capitalised on a lightning-fast Powerplay that yielded 80 runs.

Hardik’s flourish took India to a record total

While Zimbabwe’s bowlers struggled with their lengths under the humid Chennai sky, India’s middle order refused to let the momentum slip. Suryakumar Yadav’s cameo (33 off 13) provided the bridge to a grand finale that left the Chepauk crowd in raptures.

Hardik Pandya then put the icing on the cake with a 23-ball 50, while Tilak Varma proved his worth in the lower middle order with a 16-ball 44 to take India's first innings total to 256 - India's highest ever total in T20 World Cup history.

Bennett fought hard for Zimbabwe

Though Zimbabwe had surprised many teams in this ongoing campaign, chasing something over 250 looked near impossible for the team from Africa.

Young Brian Bennett ensured his side went down swinging. Bennett played a lonely, heroic hand, finishing unbeaten on 97 off 59 balls. Except for Zimbabwean captain Sikandar Raza's 31 off 21 balls, no one could give Bennett enough support to take

Zimbabwe's score over 200 and also help Bennett to score a historic T20 ton at the Mega Event.

Arshdeep’s show with the ball

Though Indian bowling looked disciplined from the start, they could not take wickets in the middle overs, and Bennett took the advantage in a slog over to punish the Indian bowlers. Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the bowlers, returning figures of 3/24,

including a double-wicket over that removed the dangerous Sikandar Raza and Ryan Burl in the space of three deliveries.

While the Chennai pitch offered some turn for Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel, the game was won by the sheer scoreboard pressure created by the batters.

Hardik Pandya capped off an all-round masterclass by keeping things tight in the middle overs, which ensured that Zimbabwe never got close to the required run rate, which had touched 15 per over by the halfway mark.

India to face West Indies in a virtual quarter-final

With this win and South Africa's win over West Indies earlier today, the India vs West Indies match on 1st March has now become a virtual quarter-final. The net run rate is now ineffective, as the team that will emerge victorious in Kolkata will head on as the second-best team from Group 1 into the semi-finals.