After a bruising start to their Super 8 campaign, India roared back into contention at the T20 World Cup 2026 with a thumping 72-run victory over Zimbabwe on Thursday in Ahmedabad. The emphatic win revived India's semifinal hopes and also restored much-needed belief within the squad after a crushing defeat to South Africa in their Super 8 opener.

Against Zimbabwe, After being asked to bat, India’s top-order batters laid the foundation for a monumental total. Young opener Abhishek Sharma set the tone with a fearless 55 off 30 deliveries, while Sanju Samson slammed 24 off 15 balls. However, the acceleration continued through the middle overs, after Hardik Pandya unleashed a brutal assault. The all-rounder blasted a breathtaking unbeaten 50 from only 23 balls to propel India to a towering 256/4 in 20 overs.

Chasing 257, Zimbabwe fought hard, delivering an extraordinary performance. To their credit, they did not fold under pressure. Their batters counterattacked and kept Zimbabwe in the hunt. They were restricted to 184/6, handing India a comprehensive 72-run win. Zimbabwe batter Brian Bennett scored an unbeaten 97, falling three runs short of his century. Meanwhile, after India's win, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar lauded Abhishek Sharma's top-notch performance. 

"We know how good Abhishek Sharma is as a batter. He silenced his doubters with this knock of 55 runs against Zimbabwe. He took that extra time to start his innings. There was a method to his batting. He respected the off spinner, didn’t take any kind of risks and played in a calm & composed manner,” Gavaskar said on JioStar.

“In this game, he actually played a defensive shot. He defended the ball. I was surprised to see that because we don't usually see Abhishek do that. I really think this is a learning curve for him. Every cricketer goes through a rough patch of not scoring runs in back-to-back games. It is about how much you learn from it. I feel Abhishek has learned a lot and this will augur well for him going forward, in the next couple of games and the all-important clash against West Indies in Kolkata,” he said.

India are now set to take on West Indies in a crucial game on Sunday in Kolkata, and that game will be important for India to win to seal their place in the semi-finals.