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IND Vs ZIM, T20 World Cup 2026: How Can India Qualify After 72-Run Win Against Zimbabwe?

India will face West Indies in the last fixture of the Super Eights in a virtual quarter-final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 1, 2026

India will now be up against West Indies in a virtual quarter-final in Kolkata on March 1, 2026. X/BCCI
Summary
  • India and West Indies will play each other in a virtual quarter-final in Kolkata

  • India beat Zimbabwe by 72 runs to stay alive in the competition

  • West Indies will qualify for the semi-finals if the match against India gets washed out

India live to fight another day in the T20 World Cup 2026 as they hammered Zimbabwe by 72 runs at the MD Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday, February 26, 2026.

Before today, India were hanging by a thread with too many complex mathematics and an uphill task, if South Africa had lost to South Africa.

Fortunately for them, earlier in the day, the Men in Blue were given a lifeline by South Africa when they beat the West Indies by 9 wickets with 23 balls to spare at the Narendra Modi Stadium.

South Africa's win took the NRR out of the equation and made it simple for India, where they needed to only win both their remaining matches against Zimbabwe and the West Indies to qualify for the semi-finals.

Here is the look of the Group 1's points table after India's win over Zimbabwe:

Zimbabwe are officially out of the T20 World Cup after losing consecutive matches against West Indies and Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe are officially out of the T20 World Cup after losing consecutive matches against West Indies and Zimbabwe. ICC

Despite the big win, India still trail Windies' NRR (-0.100 to +1.791), but now it does not have any bearing on the qualification scenario as the next match between both these teams will be a virtual quarter-final and whichever team win, will qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.

What if India vs West Indies Gets Washed Off?

Both India and the West Indies have one win in two matches in the Super Eights. However, the West Indies have a higher net run rate of 1.791 compared to India's 0.100.

Though, India vs West Indies is a virtual quarter-final, if it rains in Kolkata and the match gets washed off, then both teams will get a point each and West Indies will qualify into the semi-finals on account of better run-rate.

Abhishek Sharma Slams First World Cup Fifty

Abhishek Sharma, who has been India's most prolific T20I batter in the last year, was going through a horrendous T20 World Cup with just 15 runs in four matches, including three ducks.

But the team management persisted with Abhishek Sharma, and he finally paid back with a blistering 30-ball 55 against Zimbabwe. He slammed four boundaries and an equal number of sixes throughout his innings and played a vital role in taking his team's score to 256 in 20 overs.

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