India tweaked up its combination and got a thunderous result. Suryakumar Yadav’s side overcame the 76-run shambolic loss it suffered against South Africa in Ahmedabad to thump Zimbabwe by a complementary margin in Chennai on Thursday night to get their campaign back on track.
Earlier in the day, India got the favorable result they desired as South Africa hammered West Indies by nine wickets in Ahmedabad.
This meant that while South Africa have edged closer to a semi-final spot, having four points in two games, India and the West Indies both now have a couple of points each in two games. And both will now have a shootout on Sunday in Kolkata.
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Since West Indies lost to South Africa and India defeated Zimbabwe, India and West Indies will next clash in a virtual knockout match at the Eden Gardens on Sunday, with the winner progressing to the semi-final and the losing side getting eliminated.
The modification India made in their batting order in the IND vs ZIM fixture was to introduce a right-hander, Sanju Samson, in the top order, replacing left-hander Rinku Singh, who hasn’t contributed much in the tournament so far.
The presence of Samson meant India’s top three now had one right-hander, opposed to the three lefties India played earlier that allowed the opponents to use off-spinners with great effect.
Samson had played one game in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 before – against Namibia when Abhishek was ill. Then Samson smashed 22 runs off only 8 balls.
He played a similar innings against Zimbabwe, beginning it with a majestic six down the ground on the second ball he faced off pacer Richard Ngarava.
In the next over, he walloped Blessing Muzarabani over wide long-on before creaming a boundary in the third over off Tinotenda Maposa.
Samson’s cameo came to an end in the fourth over as he holed out at deep mid-wicket off Muzarabani, but his 24(15) gave India what they had been missing all through the tournament: a sprinting start to their batting innings.
By the time Samson was dismissed, India were already 48 in 3.3 overs. That laid the platform for other batters, and it also allowed some breathing space for Abhishek, who has struggled for runs in the T20 World Cup.
Abhishek managed to record his first fifty in the tournament, while Hardik also raised his bat for the half-century milestone. Tilak, Suryakumar, and Kishan all made significant contributions at an alarming rate as India finished with a huge total of 256/4.
Video: Gautam Gambhir’s Animated Chat With Sanju Samson After His Dismissal In IND vs ZIM
Samson was trapped brilliantly by Muzarabani, who had perhaps realized that the Indian opener likes pace on the ball. The Zimbabwean speedster bowled a slower cutter into the pitch.
Samson, who was already giving himself room by shifting on the leg side, now had to manufacture pace with his power to a delivery that was getting into him but at low speed. He went with an attempted pull shot that reached only as far as deep mid-wicket, where Ryan Burl took a simple catch.
Samson was disappointed, and so was the Chennai crowd, who had gotten excited by Samson’s early boundaries; after all, he will soon be playing at the Chepauk in the yellow jersey of Chennai Super Kings.
After Samson reached the dugout, head coach Gautam Gambhir demanded his attention. Gambhir had an animated chat with Samson about his dismissal. Gambhir could be seen gesturing with his hand about something on the leg side, and his expressions suggested lessoning his ward on the slower ball bowled by Muzarabani.
Watch the video here:
India will take the field on Sunday against Shai Hope’s West Indies in Kolkata in what is a virtual quarterfinal. Meanwhile, Zimbabwe have been knocked out of the tournament, but they have one game left – against South Africa on Sunday afternoon in Delhi. Aiden Markram’s side has sealed its position in the semi-finals.
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