India defeated Zimbabwe by 72 runs in the Super 8 match of the 2026 T20 World Cup at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. After the humiliating defeat against South Africa, it was important for the Men in Blue to win this match, they worked hard. India, invited to bat first, scored 256/4 runs in the allotted 20 overs.
Suryakumar Yadav’s team made a positive start to the match and made two changes to the team, including Sanju Samson and Akshar Patel. Sanju along with Abhishek Sharma gave a good start and made the highest opening partnership in this World Cup with 48 runs.
Abhishek Sharma finally got his form back
Abhishek Sharma also scored his first half-century in the T20 World Cup, scoring 55 runs off 30 balls after consecutive low scores. Hardik Pandya’s quick innings of 50 runs in 23 balls and 44 runs in 16 balls helped the team set the target of 257 runs. Hardik was the player of the match for his all-round performance.
Zimbabwe had a good start while chasing the target. Brian Bennett performed brilliantly with the bat and remained unbeaten on 97 runs off 59 balls. Chevron could only score 184/6, and Arshdeep Singh was the best bowler for India, taking 3 for 24 in his four-over spell.
Our video analyst had prepared a slide for all the batsmen – Suryakumar Yadav
After the match, Team India captain Suryakumar Yadav talked about how he prepared for the game as he 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 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 batsmen and bowlers, highlighting what we did well last year. We looked at that, took a lot of positives from that and came here with clarity.”
I think there was hardly anything lacking in our performance – Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav also praised the fact that in this match all the batsmen took the responsibility of scoring runs. He also pointed out the team’s mistakes while bowling in the second innings, as he said they should have been clinical in their bowling.
“With contributions from the top order to number seven, I think there was hardly anything lacking in our performance. To be honest, we could have done a little better with the ball. But at the end of the day, a win is a win and we will accept that moving forward,” he said.
We need to be courageous in our decisions- Suryakumar Yadav
Finally he said, “When we go and play the West Indies cricket team, we will definitely tighten some screws. I don’t want to take any credit away from the Zimbabwean batsmen. I think they batted brilliantly. Yes, the wicket was good, but the way they progressed the innings – taking their time in the powerplay and then building the pace smartly – was impressive. Credit to them as well.”
Suryakumar Yadav said, “From a bowling point of view, however, we could have been a little smarter with some choices at crucial moments. In situations like this, we need to be courageous with our decisions. There is no option but to take a positive path. Once we reach Kolkata, we will sit down and plan properly for that game. For now, it is about taking a day off, traveling and resting.”
Also read: India’s qualification scenario after Zimbabwe clash in T20 World Cup 2026
