‘Shameful’ world record registered in the name of Zimbabwe! Chennai rocked by Tilak and Pandya’s fireworks

New Delhi. The historical ground of Chepauk and the Super-8 match of T20 World Cup 2026. On one hand, Team India was out to establish its dominance, while on the other hand, it was a fight for survival for Zimbabwe. But by the end of this match, a shameful record was registered in the name of Zimbabwe, which no team would ever want to remember. Zimbabwe has become the first team in the world to give the opposition a chance to score more than 250 runs in two consecutive T20 International matches.

Sikandar Raza’s decision to bowl first after winning the toss proved suicidal. Indian opener Abhishek Sharma targeted the Zimbabwean bowlers from the very beginning. World number-1 T20 batsman Abhishek Sharma played an inning of 55 runs in just 30 balls, which included 4 fours and 4 skyscraper sixes. After his dismissal, Suryakumar Yadav did not let the run pace slow down by playing a stormy innings of 33 runs in 12 balls.

At the end of the innings, Tilak Verma (44 not out in 16 balls) and Hardik Pandya (50 in 23 balls) created havoc. Hardik not only completed his half-century by hitting a six off Brad Evans on the last ball of the innings, but also took India’s score to 256/4. This is India’s biggest score so far in T20 World Cup history.

Zimbabwe’s shameful record
This wound is deep for Zimbabwe because just four days ago, on 23 February, West Indies had made a huge score of 254/6 against them at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Giving away 250+ runs in two consecutive matches is a nightmare for any bowling attack. Zimbabwe’s bowlers looked completely helpless in front of the flat pitch of Chennai and the aggression of the Indian batsmen.

Semi-final equation and India-West Indies battle
It is almost impossible for Zimbabwe to chase the target of 257 runs (256/4) given by India. With this defeat, Zimbabwe will be officially out of the race for the semi-finals. But this result has taken the excitement of the tournament to its peak. Now the India vs West Indies match to be held at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on March 1 has become a ‘virtual knockout’. Whichever team wins this match from Group-1 of Super-8, it will directly get the ticket for the semi-finals. It is a matter of happiness for Indian fans that their team has returned to its best form at the right time.