South Africa and India put on commanding batting performances at the T20 World Cup as the Proteas sealed their semi-final spot while the tournament co-hosts have set up a virtual quarter-final with West Indies.
Zimbabwe were knocked out of the World Cup even before India’s record-breaking batting display buried them in Chennai on Friday morning (AEDT), with the unbeaten South Africans’ earlier win sealing their feat.
SCORECARDS
India beat Zimbabwe by 72 runs
South Africa beat West Indies by nine wickets
Aiden Markram’s men marched on majestically with their captain looking a man on a mission as he powered his side to a nine-wicket rout of the Windies and a place in the final four.
It means India’s match against West Indies in Kolkata on Monday morning (AEDT) will be a knockout to decide the Super Eights Group 1’s other semi-finalist.
‘We’re back’
Abhishek Sharma is confident that reigning champions India have rediscovered their mojo with ideal timing.
“The Indian team is back, the way we wanted, the way we’ve been the whole year,” boomed the opener, who rediscovered his best form too on Thursday with a half-century in Chennai that set them up to amass 4-256, the second-highest total ever witnessed in the competition.
When Zimbabwe’s admirable but always futile chase eventually closed on 6-184, the co-hosts’ 72-run victory ensured they’ll now face a winner-takes-all clash with the Windies.
After India’s shock defeat against the Proteas at the weekend, this was the power-packed Indians’ emphatic answer against the Zimbabwean surprise packets who’d accounted for Australia so sensationally in Sri Lanka.
After being invited to bat, all six of the Indian batters, uniquely, struck at a rate of 150-plus as they almost toppled the all-time record World Cup total of 6-260 set by Sri Lanka against Kenya in Johannesburg in 2007.
HIGHEST MEN’S T20 WORLD CUP SCORES
6-260 Sri Lanka v Kenya, Johannesburg, 2007
4-256 India v Zimbabwe, Chennai, 2026*
6-254 West Indies v Zimbabwe, Mumbai, 2026
5-235 Ireland v Oman, Colombo, 2026
8-230 England v South Africa, Mumbai, 2016
4-229 South Africa v England, Mumbai 2016
The total, though, easily eclipsed India’s best, the 4-218 against England in Durban in 2007.
Abishek’s own rejuvenation seemed to inspire them. After three successive ducks and another knock of just 15, the world’s No.1-ranked T20 batter blasted back into business with 55 off 30 balls at the top of the order.
He set the tone with Sanju Samson (24 off 15) as they slammed 48 off 22 balls, and India wouldn’t take their foot off the gas as Ishan Kishan hit 38 off 24 and captain Suryakumar Yadav 33 off 13.
The ‘finishers’ were Hardik Pandya, with his 50no off 23 balls, and Tilak Varma, who scored quicker than anyone with his 44no off 16. Between them, the sensational six clocked 17 sixes.
There was no way Zimbabwe, without the same brand of power-hitting, could get anywhere near that total but admirable opener Brian Bennett and his equally impressive captain Sikandar Raza (31 off 21) gave it all they could.
Bennett, who’s had a wonderful tournament to become the second-top scorer, ended up 97no off 59 balls, having hit six sixes in his brave knock.
Dismissed just once in five innings, the man whose unbeaten half-century proved the keystone of the win over Australia now has a handy average of 267 for the tournament.
Markram fires perfect Proteas
Markram meanwhile ensured it was six wins out of six at the tournament for the rampant Proteas as he cracked a glorious unbeaten 82 off 46 balls to make their target of 177 appear easy meat in Ahmedabad.
Markram just missed out on leading his men to the title in Barbados two years ago when India pipped them by seven runs, but he looks intent to ensure there’ll be no heartbreak this time as his partnerships with Quinton de Kock (47 off 24) and Ryan Rickelton (45 off 28) got them to 1-177 with 23 balls remaining.
Once again coming up big in a marquee game, Markram, centurion and man-of-the-match in the World Test final victory over Australia last year, has guided them into the last four.
They’re top of the Super Eights group with a maximum four points from two games and could still top the standings even if they don’t beat Zimbabwe in their last match in Delhi on Sunday.
Markram couldn’t do anything wrong from the moment he won the toss and inserted the Windies, with Kagiso Rabada (2-20) and Lungi Ngidi (3-30) ripping through their top-order.
As they slumped to 7-83, South Africa were completely in control and it needed a remarkable world-record T20I eighth-wicket partnership of 89 between Romario Shepherd, who reached an unbeaten 52 off with a last-ball streaky inside-edged boundary, and Jason Holder (49 off 31) to alter the complexion of the chase.
Yet targeting their 8-176, Markram, brilliant from the outset with his dazzling stroke-play that brought him four sixes and seven fours, and de Kock, who also clattered four sixes after not seeing much of the early strike, put on 95 in the first eight overs to lay the foundation of a comfortable win.
“Batted really nicely with Quinny (de Kock), I’ve got a really nice relationship with him, and Rick’s (Rickelton) at three as well,” explained Markram, who’s now the second-top scorer in the tournament on 264 runs behind only Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan.
“So between the three of us, we sort of unofficially said to each other ‘we need to make sure the team gets off to a really good start in the power play, especially when the wickets are good’. It came off today for us, and hopefully we can continue that trend.”
So far, the South Africans have breezed through every match with a dominant win, except for the nail-biting victory over Afghanistan which took them two super overs to seal.
