Brief Scores: West Indies (254/6 in 20 ov) beat Zimbabwe (147/10 in 17.4 ov) by 107 runs in Mumbai in Super 8 Group 1 match.
West Indies’ rampaging victory against Zimbabwe has further compounded India’s troubles in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign, pushing them into a corner. West Indies crushed Zimbabwe by 107 runs in their Super 8 fixture on Monday, 23 February, at the Wankhede Stadium after posting the second highest total in T20 World Cup history.
Set a daunting target of 255, Zimbabwe were bundled out for 147 in 17.4 overs. The emphatic victory has left India in a precarious position, as they now need commanding wins in their remaining two matches after suffering a 76-run defeat to South Africa in their opening Super 8 game.
Zimbabwe began with intent in pursuit of what appeared an improbable chase, as Tadiwanashe Marumani (14 off 8) made a brisk start. However, he was caught at deep point off Matthew Forde in the second over. Zimbabwe’s troubles deepened when Akeal Hosein (3/28) produced a touch of spin wizardry to dismiss Brian Bennett (5 off 5) for the first time in the tournament. Three balls later, Ryan Burl (0 off 3) was caught at deep square leg, leaving Zimbabwe in serious trouble.
Gudakesh Motie’s dream spell
In the blink of an eye, the Chevrons collapsed from 20 without loss to 20 for 3 in the space of five deliveries. With Hosein extracting sharp turn from the surface, Gudakesh Motie (4/28) joined the party and delivered his career-best spell, running through the Zimbabwe batting order. He first outfoxed Dion Myers (28 off 15), who was squared up by the sharp turn and lost his stumps.
Motie consistently hit the ideal length on the pitch and continued to trouble the batters, turning the ball sharply away from the right-handers and repeatedly beating the outside edge. He later shattered Sikandar Raza’s (27 off 20) stumps and made Tashinga Musekiwa’s day even worse by dismissing him for a golden duck. Tony Munyonga became his fourth victim, caught at deep mid-wicket.
Zimbabwe clearly struggled, playing their first match of the tournament in India as they failed to acclimatise to the conditions in Mumbai. Brad Evans (43 off 21) briefly delayed the inevitable with a flurry of late boundaries, but he eventually fell to Matthew Forde (2/27 in 3.4 overs) in the 18th over as West Indies sealed a commanding victory.
Earlier, West Indies were tested with the new ball by Richard Ngarava (2/42) and Blessing Muzarabani (2/47) after captain Sikandar Raza won the toss and elected to field. Ngarava dismissed Brandon King (9 off 12), while Brad Evans accounted for Shai Hope (14 off 12), as West Indies ended the powerplay on 55 for 2 in six overs.
Hetmyer makes Zimbabwe pay for catch drops
Shimron Hetmyer arrived at the crease during the powerplay and signalled his intent immediately, getting off the mark with a boundary. The left-hander was handed a reprieve on 9 by Musekiwa and ensured Zimbabwe paid dearly for the missed opportunity. Hetmyer registered the fastest half-century by a West Indies batter in T20 World Cup history, reaching the milestone in just 19 deliveries.
He found an able partner in Rovman Powell, who endured a slow start, managing just 15 runs from his first 18 balls. However, Powell shifted gears from the 12th over onwards, taking on Brad Evans and Dion Myers to bring up his half-century in just 30 balls. Hetmyer and Powell combined for a blistering 122-run partnership from just 52 deliveries for the third wicket, propelling West Indies past the 170-run mark by the 15th over.
West Indies compounds India’s troubles
Hetmyer (85 off 34) was eventually dismissed after being dropped twice by Musekiwa, holing out to deep mid-wicket off Graeme Cremer. Following the departures of Hetmyer and Powell (59 off 35), Sherfane Rutherford (31* off 13), Romario Shepherd (21 off 10) and Jason Holder (13 off 4) provided the perfect finishing flourish, guiding West Indies to the second-highest total in T20 World Cup history (254/6).
Meanwhile, the commanding win has left India under immense pressure in Group 1 after their 76-run defeat to South Africa in their first Super 8 fixture. The heavy loss significantly dented their net run rate, which now stands at -3.80. Meanwhile, West Indies have surged to the top of the group with an impressive net run rate of +5.350. On the other hand, South Africa sit on the second spot with a net run rate of +3.80. The two teams seem favourites to progress ahead into the semi finals from the group.
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