India put up a stunning show with the bat against Zimbabwe in the Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026 in Chennai. The hosts hammered 256/4 in 20 overs after being put into bat. All-rounder Hardik Pandya played a brilliant knock of an unbeaten 50 off just 23 deliveries, a knock decorated with two fours and four maximums.
Hardik had a special fan cheering for him in the stands and that was his girlfriend Mahieka Sharma. In a video that has gone viral on social media, Mahieka is seen applauding Pandya’s knock.
Openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma provided India with a quick start as the two put 48 on the board. Abhishek was then joined by Ishan Kishan and they took on the Zimbabwe bowlers helping India go past 100 in 9.1 overs. Sharma who had been struggling with form finally got back into the groove and struck a quick-fire fifty.
Mahieka Sharma on Hardik Pandya six#INDvsZIM #T20WorldCup #T20WC2026 #T20WorldCup26 pic.twitter.com/YMgj6P3IiL
— Achyut Kumar Dwivedi (@dwivediachyut41) February 26, 2026
Apart from him, Pandya too notched up a fifty. Tilak Varma remained unbeaten at 44 off 16 as India posted a big total. This is an important match for India as far as the qualification is concerned. The Men in Blue need to win both their matches against Zimbabwe and West Indies to give themselves a genuine chance.
Innings Break!
A collective batting effort takes #TeamIndia to their highest-ever total in #T20WorldCup history 💪
Over to the bowling unit now!
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/p4GxtxFMLH#MenInBlue | #INDvZIM pic.twitter.com/cFua2U93ke
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 26, 2026
Blistering knock 🤝 Fiery finish 🔥
Hardik Pandya provides #TeamIndia with a big final flourish with 5⃣0⃣*(23) 💪
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/p4GxtxFMLH#T20WorldCup | #MenInBlue | #INDvZIM | @hardikpandya7 pic.twitter.com/oGCu3MZEbw
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 26, 2026
“Abhishek Sharma: It’s always great, you know, when you contribute for the team. And I was waiting for this moment for quite a long time now, so finally it’s happening. I’m really happy. I would say it wasn’t that intentional (talking about slowing down), but I just wanted to, you know, spend some time at the pitch because if you see, I haven’t even played 10-12 balls in the whole tournament yet,” Abhishek said after the innings.
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