Zimbabwe made early inroads during their T20 World Cup clash against the West Indies, making an immediate statement in their Super Eights encounter at the Wankhede Stadium. After captain Sikandar Raza won the toss and chose to field, his bowlers removed both the openers inside the first six overs.

In the final over of the Powerplay, Brad Evans, digging the ball into the surface, denied Hope the width and pace he thrives on. Evans rolled his fingers over another slower delivery, and Hope, looking to slog across the line, failed to get hold of it cleanly. Brian Bennett, sprinting hard to his left, flung himself forward in a full-length dive and pouched it inches above the turf.

Notably, it marked Bennett’s second such diving effort of the tournament. 

Check Video of the Day from Match 44, T20 World Cup 2026, here:

Richard Ngarava returned to the XI, began with a four-run over, extracting just enough movement to keep Brandon King and Shai Hope on their backfoot. Blessing Muzarabani complemented him, even beating Hope’s outside edge with one. West Indies reached 7 without loss after two overs.

The first breakthrough arrived in the third over as Ngarava smartly bowled a slower short ball as King attempted to smash a maximum. The miscued hit found the fielder in the deep, ending King’s stay at 9 off 12 balls and giving Zimbabwe a solid start. Shimron Hetmyer tried to shift the momentum as he found a couple of boundaries.

However, Zimbabwe kept chipping away with clever changes of pace. By the end of the Powerplay, the West Indies were 55/2.