Mumbai: Having suffered a 76-run hammering at the hands of South Africa on Sunday night, India’s team management would have kept an eye on Monday’s encounter between the West Indies and Zimbabwe, the other teams in their Super 8s group 1.
And what they saw from former champions West Indies would have set them thinking.
Flamboyant left-hander Shimron Hetmyer led a carnage at the Wankhede Stadium to guide the two-time former champions to a massive 254/6 in their 20 overs.
It was not only the first 250-plus total of the 2026 T20 World Cup, West Indies also achieved the second-biggest score in the history of the competition. Sri Lanka’s 260/6 versus Kenya, in the 2007 T20 World Cup, just about retained its top position.
Hetmyer blasted 7 fours and 7 sixes on way to a blazing 85 off 34 balls. Rovman Powell made 59 off 35 balls, and Sherfane Rutherford remained unbeaten on 31 off 13 balls.
Giantkillers Zimbabwe, whose stunning victory over Australia ousted the 2021 champions from the preliminary group stage, went on to beat co-hosts Sri Lanka to qualify unbeaten for the Super Eights. On Monday, they were brought to their knees by the rampaging West Indians, and lost by 107 runs.
India will be up against Zimbabwe in three nights’ time at Chennai, and both teams will be desperate and hungry to turn around their Super Eights campaign.
Even if Suryakumar Yadav’s men do get the better of Zimbabwe, they will face the daunting challenge of West Indies at Eden Gardens on March 1.
India’s net run rate (NRR) is a woeful -3.800, and they will have to beat both Zimbabwe and West Indies by convincing margins to ensure a semifinal berth.
The men in blue clearly have a lot to think about in the next few days.
