With South Africa producing a nine-wicket demolition job against West Indies in the evening game in Ahmedabad, and India thrashing Zimbabwe by 72 runs in Chennai after that, Thursday turned out to be a perfect day for the Men in Blue as they moved one step closer to a semifinal spot in the T20 World Cup 2026.
Here’s how a perfect day unfolded for India:
Proteas’ dream start: Fresh from smashing Zimbabwe’s bowling attack all around the Wankhede Stadium, much was expected of the West Indies’ powerful batting lineup. But Kagiso Rabada pegged them back early to pick up two wickets in the third over. Within the first hour of play, WI were reduced to 83/7 with most of their big hitters back in the pavilion.
India’s destiny: As Suryakumar Yadav walked out for the toss in Chennai, India’s scenarios became crystal clear. South Africa’s 9-wicket thumping of West Indies in Ahmedabad eliminated Net Run Rate scenarios and India knew they just had to turn up and win their two matches to ensure the defeat against Proteas doesn’t derail their title defence before the semifinals.
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Abhishek fires: Easily the biggest positive for India in Chennai was Abhishek Sharma finally finding his groove in the tournament after a nightmare start. With the team management’s continued backing, the left-handed opener seemed fluent during his 30-ball 55, with the four sixes he hit especially reassuring as the batswing came through in style.
Collective batting: India were dependent on one or two batters stepping up on a given day – and eventually none of them fired in a poor performance against SA. In Chennai, India produced their best batting display yet. From Sanju Samson’s return to the top of the order with a few tone-setting hits to Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya’s fireworks lower down in a blistering 84*-run stand, things clicked into gear.
Arshdeep’s yorkers: While Axar Patel proved his value once more on his return to the playing XI, picking up the first Zimbabwe wicket to fall in his first over, India’s best bowler on the night was Arshdeep Singh, who registered figures of 3/24. India’s death bowling was a concern, minus Jasprit Bumrah, against South Africa but Arshdeep’s nailing of his yorkers augur well ahead of the virtual quarterfinal against WI.
