Even though India was performing well, they fell from 87-1 to 101-4 and were at risk of scoring poorly. Rahul helped establish the foundation but was removed after making his fifty-fifth run for the second straight game. Suryakumar persevered and used some dubious Zimbabwean field positioning to smack the leg-side boundary with flicks and ramps as India scored 79 runs off the final five overs.
The first-ball wicket shook Zimbabwe’s slow chase, and their top order was never able to recover or score regularly against a potent Indian bowling attack. In his 35 from 22 balls, Ryan Burl batted well, hitting sweeps on both sides of the wicket, while Sikandar Raza did the same for his 34. Zimbabwe was bowled out in 17.2 overs after Burl was dismissed after 13.2 overs, allowing them to suffer a hefty loss.
The next T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in the West Indies and the United States in 2025, will require them to qualify because they placed last in Group 2.
