T20 World Cup: India sails to semifinal with Zimbabwe victory

India demolished Zimbabwe by 72 runs in a Super 8 thriller at Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, surging into the T20 World Cup semifinal. 

Batting first after losing the toss, Rohit Sharma’s squad erupted for 256/4, which was their highest T20 World Cup total and second-best in tournament history. 

Abhishek Sharma set the tone, bludgeoning 55 off 30 balls with four fours and four sixes, shaking off prior failures. Ishan Kishan chipped in 38 off 24, his pulls finding the ropes regularly.

Suryakumar Yadav set the pace with 33 off 13 deliveries, lofting spinners effortlessly. The death overs belonged to Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma, who stitched an 84-run stand off 28 balls. 

Pandya’s unbeaten 50 off 23 hammered eight sixes and five fours, while Varma’s 44 not out off 16 included five maximums.

Zimbabwe’s bowlers, led by Sikandar Raza’s 1-29, wilted under the onslaught, conceding 92 runs in the last six overs.

Chasing 257, Zimbabwe started brightly with Tadiwanashe Marumani’s 20, but Axar Patel struck, inducing a cover catch.

Brian Bennett waged a lone battle, crafting 97 not out off 59 balls, seven fours and a six in a desperate surge. 

Wessly Madhevere added 32, but regular strikes collapsed the chase. Arshdeep Singh led with 3-24, foxing batsmen with swing. 

Jasprit Bumrah conceded just 18 in four overs, while Kuldeep Yadav’s guile accounted for two middle-order scalps.

Zimbabwe ended at 184/6, ending their campaign after upset victories over Australia and Sri Lanka. India leapfrogged to second in Group 1 with two points and an NRR of -0.100, setting up a heated clash with West Indies.

The winner of that match will advance alongside South Africa.

After the match, Hardik Pandya, who was named man of the match, said he was satisfied with the result of the day. 

Captain Suryakumar Yadav said the team may have been ”too clinical”, and there were things to brush up on before the West Indies fixture: “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. We’ll definitely tighten a few screws when we go and play the West Indies cricket team.”