Just over an hour before play began on Monday, Shimron Hetmyer stood at the crease on the pitch for West Indies’ Super 8s clash against Zimbabwe. The sun was dipping, teammates were in the middle of their routines, but the left-hander was already visualising what might unfold later that evening.
Hetmyer has never hidden what he enjoys most about batting. In an interview several years ago, he had spoken about his love for clearing the rope and why that thrill meant more to him than simply finishing as the top scorer for his side.
“People will ask who is going to make the most runs and stuff like that. I just say I am going to hit the most sixes, and everyone starts laughing. I just bat as I see it, but if I get a ball I can hit for six, I will. I do like hitting sixes,” he had told The Telegraph in 2019.
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On Monday night, he showed that his appetite remained undiminished by time. Seven years on from those comments, the left-hander unleashed an onside masterclass that left the Zimbabwe bowlers scrambling for answers and the crowd at the Wankhede Stadium thoroughly entertained, setting up a net run rate-boosting 107-run win for his side.
The key to his innings was how cleanly he struck the ball. The shorter square boundaries at the Wankhede Stadium can tempt batters into over-hitting, but Hetmyer’s assault felt measured even at its most brutal. Once he settled in, anything short or on the middle- and leg-stump was dispatched with authority, especially through the midwicket region.
He swept and pulled with remarkable ease, repeatedly sending the ball soaring into the stands in what turned into a six-hitting exhibition for the moderately packed crowd. The Zimbabwe bowlers, the majority of whom were unfamiliar with bowling in these conditions, were never allowed to settle into any rhythm.
Batting at number three also marked a slightly different role for Hetmyer. For years, franchises across T20 leagues have used him primarily as a finisher. But the retirement of Nicolas Pooran has opened the door for him to move up the order for the West Indies, and on Monday, he made that opportunity count.
His half-century came off just 19 balls – the fastest by a West Indies batter in T20 World Cups – reached with yet another six, this time off Sikandar Raza over square-leg. There was no easing up after the milestone. Hetmyer continued to dominate on a placid surface, punishing anything that strayed into his hitting arc.
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The knock, however, was not without a touch of fortune. Tashinga Musekiwa put down two chances, reprieves that proved match-deciding as Hetmyer pressed on with the same attacking intent.
For a while, he even looked capable of threatening the record for the fastest century in the tournament’s history. But attempting to clear midwicket for his eighth six, he was dismissed by Graeme Cremer, well caught by Brian Bennett for a blistering 85 off 34 balls. Of those runs, 62 came on the onside, with 56 of those against spin.
The entertainment ended there, but not before it had drained Zimbabwe’s energy and tilted the contest firmly in the West Indies’ favour.
Motie shines
Any chance of a miraculous Zimbabwe win quickly evaporated when they were reduced to 20/3 inside the third over, with their leading run-getter, Bennett, dismissed for the first time in the tournament by Akeal Hosein, for a mere five runs.
After Hosein had ripped through the top order, his left-arm spin partner Gudakesh Motie took care of the middle and lower order, taking 4/28, which included two beauties to Dion Myers and Sikandar Raza, that pitched on middle before turning and beating both batters and knocking back the stumps.
Brief Scores: West Indies 254/6 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 85, Rovman Powell 59; Blessing Muzarabani 2/42) beat Zimbabwe 147 all out in 17.4 overs (Brad Evans 43, Gudakesh Motie 4/28, Akeal Hosein 3/28) by 107 runs.
