Big upset due to West Indies’ explosive victory… India’s path to semi-finals becomes even more difficult

Mumbai: The equation of Group-1 has completely changed in the Super-8 stage of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. West Indies thrashed Zimbabwe by 107 runs at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, making the race for the semi-finals very challenging for India.

Batting first, West Indies made a mammoth score of 254/6. Shimron Hetmyer played an explosive inning of 85 runs in just 34 balls, which included many big sixes. Rovman Powell also gave a strong base to the team by scoring a quick half-century. In reply, Zimbabwe’s team completely collapsed under pressure and was reduced to 147 runs. Gudakesh Moti made the match one-sided by taking 4 wickets.

With this win, West Indies’ net run rate (NRR) reached +5.350, the highest in the group.

Current points table of Group-1 (Super-8)

– West Indies: 1 Match, 1 Win, 2 Points, NRR +5.350
– South Africa: 1 match, 1 win, 2 points, NRR +3.800
– India: 1 Match, 0 Win, 0 Point, NRR -3.800
-Zimbabwe: 1 Match, 0 Win, 0 Point, NRR -5.350

India have already lost their opening match to South Africa by 76 runs, which has badly affected their NRR. Now Team India will have to win the remaining two matches against Zimbabwe (Chennai) and West Indies – that too by a big margin, to improve the NRR and remain hopeful of the semi-finals.

What are the possible paths forward for India?

1. If South Africa wins its remaining two matches, it will have 6 points. In such a situation, India will have to score 4 points by winning both its matches by big margins and be better than second in NRR.

2. If West Indies beats South Africa, then three teams (India, South Africa, West Indies) can have 4 points each (if India wins both the matches). Then NRR will decide, and India is in the weakest position due to its early defeat.

The pressure of the next matches is now at its peak. India’s next match is against Zimbabwe, while South Africa and West Indies will also face off on the same day. With these results the picture of the group will be almost certain.