Abhishek, Hardik help India defeat Zimbabwe by 72 runs

Abhishek Sharma rediscovered his form with a blazing fifty, Hardik Pandya bludgeoned a half-century, and Tilak Varma allayed strike-rate worries in India’s massive 72-run victory over Zimbabwe, keeping them alive in the race to the T20 World Cup semifinals here on Thursday.

Along with that ticking of several boxes in their must-win Super Eight match here, India posted an imposing 256 for four - their highest ever total in T20 World Cups, and also the highest in this edition of the ICC showpiece.

In the tournament’s scenario, India’s win ensured South Africa’s (4 points) entry into the last four from Group 1, leaving the hosts and the West Indies locked in a virtual knockout match at Kolkata on March 1. Both India and the West Indies now have two points, going into their last group stage encounter.

But all of it could not have happened without contributions from Abhishek (55, 30b, 4x4, 4x6), Pandya (50 not out, 23b, 2x4, 4x6) and Tilak Varma (44 not out, 16b, 3x4, 4x6), which shaped India’s recovery from a debilitating 76-run defeat to the Proteas in the previous match.

In reply, Zimbabwe could only garner 184 for six. Opener Brian Bennett, who clobbered Shivam Dube for 26 runs in an over, offered lone resistance with an unbeaten 59-ball 97, a well-conceptualised knock but destined to be a mere footnote. Cutting back to India’s innings, each of those three aforementioned knocks carried a significance of its own, but the lead act was Abhishek.

Abhi-shakes off rust Since returning from a stomach bug, the Punjab batter looked a distant shadow of his dominating self, registering three ducks in a row. But on a smooth Chepauk pitch, the left-hander found his bearings, also easing the worries of the Indian team management over the sudden slump in his form.

The 25-year-old was involved in two excellent partnerships- a 48 for the opening wicket with Sanju Samson and then a 72 off 42 balls with Ishan Kishan (38) for the following wicket — that gave the hosts a strong platform. Re-drafting Samson into the eleven was predominantly to break the sequence of left-handers at the top, but pairing him with Abhishek proved a good move eventually. The Kerala right-hander smoked 24 off 15 balls to ease any nerves that his partner had.

Once Samson departed, lofting pacer Blessing Muzarabani to Ryan Burl in the deep, Abhishek took charge of the Indian innings. He hammered Tino Maposo, Brian Bennett and Richard Ngarava for sixes as India stormed to 80 for one in the Power Play segment, their second best after the 86/1 made against Namibia in a group match.

The bat flow, feet movement and the eye-hand coordination, which were missing in this interim, and he fetched his first fifty off just 26 balls with a single off spinner Sikandar Raza. But more importantly, Abhishek looked assured against off-spin, his nemesis in previous matches, in this game, putting his feet to better use.

Abhishek’s belligerence and the largesse of Zimbabwe fielders helped India maintain the tempo even after the Power Play, scoring 81 runs between overs seven and 14. The tourists were also guilty of modest catching effort - dropping Kishan (26) and Suryakumar Yadav (8) However, Abhishek could not further extend his innings, skying Maposa to Raza in the deep, much to Zimbabwe’s relief.

Middle-order fires, Tilak’s SR soars However, the relief did not last long as India’s middle-order batters, who were struggling to force pace on slower surfaces in earlier matches, rediscovered their range in the mixed soil surface at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. India reached the team 100 in 9.1 overs, but the next 100 flowed in in just 7.3 overs.   Pandya (50 not out) and Tilak (44 not out) used the long handle to telling effect, scoring 84 runs for the fifth wicket as India maximised the final five overs, in which 80 runs were scored.

Pandya just reaffirmed his status as a death-over bully of bowlers with a typically scorching fifty, but the outing of Tilak might have pleased the think tank to some extent. Till this match, the left-hander was striking at a well below par 118. But the true-paced Chennai pitch helped him turn his bat into a cudgel, clubbing runs at 275. Once India raised that massive total, it was always a case of margin, and the bowlers, led by left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh (3/24), did the stifling job to perfection to safeguard India’s title defence.