West Indies thrash Zimbabwe by 107 runs in Super 8 opener

Mumbai: Zimbabwe, which defeated a team like Australia in Sri Lanka, suffered a crushing defeat in the T20 World Cup upon arriving in India. Zimbabwe faced West Indies in their first Super-8 match. The two-time champions won the match by a huge margin of 107 runs. This is also the biggest win by runs in this T20 World Cup. Batting first, West Indies scored 254 for 6, the second-highest total in the tournament's history. Zimbabwe's innings was reduced to just 147 runs.

Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell's explosive batting

Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza won the toss and elected to bowl. The Caribbean team had a poor start. Brandon King was dismissed for just 9 runs off 12 balls. Captain Shai Hope then departed after scoring 14 runs off 12 balls. Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell then took charge, adding 122 runs for the third wicket. Hetmyer was explosive from the start, reaching his half-century in just 19 balls. Hetmyer scored 85 runs off 34 balls, including 7 fours and as many sixes. He also received two lives.

Rovman Powell took 29 balls to reach his fifty. Powell played a powerful innings of 59 runs off 35 balls. The Caribbean batsman hit four fours and four sixes in his innings. Romario Shepherd scored 21 runs off just 10 balls, while Jason Holder contributed 13 runs off just four balls. Rutherford faced just 13 balls and scored an unbeaten 31 with the help of three fours and two sixes. In bowling, Blessing Muzarabani took the maximum two wickets for Zimbabwe.

Left-arm spinner's brilliance

Tadiwanashe Marumani tried to give Zimbabwe a quick start. After 1.5 overs, the team's score was 20 runs. The next five balls went for naught, and three wickets fell. This ended the team's remaining hopes. Dion Meyers continued to score quickly after this. He scored 28 runs off 15 balls, but was caught by Gudkesh Moti in the very next over after the powerplay. Sikandar Raza and Tony Munyonga shared a 42-run partnership.

At one stage, the team's score was 94 for 4. Nine wickets fell to reach 103. However, the last pair troubled West Indies. Brad Evans added 44 runs for the last wicket with Richard Gwara. This was the biggest partnership of Zimbabwe's innings. Evans scored 42 runs with the help of five sixes. The team's innings ended in the 18th over. Left-arm spinner Gudkes Moti took the maximum four wickets and Akil Hussain took three wickets. Both also bowled one maiden over each.