The West Indies began their Super 8 campaign at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in emphatic fashion on February 23, thrashing Zimbabwe by 107 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in India.

Powered by blistering half-centuries from Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell, the Caribbean side piled up 254/6 — the highest total of this year’s tournament and the second highest in T20 World Cup history.

Zimbabwe, chasing a daunting 255 for victory, were bowled out for 147.

The result extends West Indies’ unbeaten run to five matches in the tournament.

After Zimbabwe elected to field, they briefly kept the West Indies in check, restricting them to 55/2 in the powerplay. 

But the pressure quickly shifted.

Hetmyer, who survived two chances early in his innings, made Zimbabwe pay.
He smashed a 19-ball half-century — the fastest by a West Indian at a T20 World Cup and joint fastest of this edition — bringing up the milestone with a six off captain Sikandar Raza.

He went on to hammer 85 from 34 balls, striking seven fours and seven sixes before being caught on the boundary.

Powell matched the tempo at the other end, scoring 59 and reaching his half-century in 29 balls. The pair shared one of the fastest 100-run partnerships of the tournament as West Indies surged past 150 inside 13 overs.

The onslaught continued even after their departures, with the Caribbean side finishing with 19 sixes and 16 fours to register the first 250-plus total of this World Cup.

Zimbabwe’s hopes of pulling off a record chase quickly faded as they slumped to 20/3 inside three overs.

Matthew Forde removed Tadiwanashe Marumani, while Akeal Hosein dismissed Brian Bennett on the very next ball — the first time Bennett had fallen in this tournament.

Dion Myers (28) and Raza (27) attempted to rebuild, but neither converted their starts into a match-defining innings.

Brad Evans provided late resistance with a spirited 43 off 21 balls, including five sixes and two fours. His 44-run last-wicket stand with Richard Ngarava was Zimbabwe’s highest partnership of the match and the highest 10th-wicket partnership in T20 World Cup history.

However, the outcome was long decided.

Left-arm spinners Hosein and Gudakesh Motie led the bowling effort. Motie finished with 4/28, while Hosein claimed 3/28 as West Indies sealed their biggest win of this tournament in terms of runs.

With five wins from five matches, West Indies have sent an early message in the Super 8 stage — they remain one of the teams to beat.