T20 WC: India take on Zimbabwe in high-stake clash
25 Feb 2026

India will take on Zimbabwe in a high-stake Super Eight match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on February 26.

The Group A match will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

After suffering a heavy defeat against South Africa in their opening Super Eight fixture, India will be looking to make a strong comeback in this crucial encounter.

Here is the preview of the upcoming contest.

Zimbabwe face tough challenge against India
Tough beginning

Zimbabwe also had a tough start to their Super Eight campaign, losing by 107 runs to West Indies.

Despite their earlier impressive performances, they now face a tough challenge against India.

The match is expected to be dominated by spinners at the Chepauk stadium, which could play a crucial role in determining the outcome of this high-stakes clash.

India must win remaining matches
Prospect

India have been drawn in the Super 8 Group 1 along with South Africa, West Indies, and Zimbabwe.

As the Proteas heavily defeated India by 76 runs, Suryakumar Yadav's men must win both their remaining Super 8 matches.

If India lose even one their remaining matches, they will stare at elimination.

They need to beat both WI and Zimbabwe by big margins and hope for South Africa to stay unbeaten to give themselves the best chance.

Pitch report and other details
Match details

The Chennai pitch usually favors batters, with scores of 170-180 easily achievable.

If spinners bowl tight lines, they can take crucial wickets and influence the game.

Notably, the track is known to favor spinners and slower bowlers, especially in the second innings.

The match, which will get underway at 7:00pm IST, will be broadcasted on JioStar Network Channels and live-streamed on JioHotstar (App & Website).

Rinku Singh to miss the game
Rinku

Rinku Singh, who has been struggling with form throughout the tournament, has flown back home due to a family emergency.

If Rinku is ruled out of the Zimbabwe clash, India could consider bringing back right-handed batsman Sanju Samson into their playing XI.

Meanwhile, Axar Patel, who missed India's last two matches, bowled and batted during practice today and could make a return on a black-soil surface.

Washington Sundar is certain to make way for him.

A look at head-to-head record
H2H

According to ESPNcricinfo, India and Zimbabwe have faced each other 13 times in T20 internationals, with the former winning on 10 occasions.

The remaining three games landed in Zimbabwe's favor.

In the last T20I assignment between the two teams, a second-string Indian side thrashed hosts Zimbabwe 4-1 in 2024.

The two sides have previously met in a T20 WC game before - in 2022.

India won that clash by a comfortable margin of 71 runs.

A look at the probable XIs
Team lineup

India predicted XI: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, and Jasprit Bumrah.

Zimbabwe predicted XI: Brian Bennett, Tadiwanashe Marumani (wk), Ryan Burl, Sikandar Raza (c), Tashinga Musekiwa, Tony Munyonga, Dion Myers, Brad Evans, Graeme Cremer, Richard Ngarava, and Blessing Muzarabani.

Players to watch out for
Star performers

Indian opener Ishan Kishan has scored 176 runs in this tourney at an impressive strike rate of 193.41.

Meanwhile, Indian mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy has taken 10 wickets in five games at an average of 10.90.

Brian Bennett has been Zimbabwe's top performer with the bat, scoring 180 runs across four innings.

Blessing Muzarabani has raced to 11 wickets in four games at a jaw-dropping average of 10.27.