New Delhi: West Indies produced a dominant batting show to post the second-highest total in T20 World Cup history during their Super Eight clash against Zimbabwe at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Monday, February 23. West Indies rode on Shimron Hetmyer’s stunning 35-ball 84 and a quickfire 59 from Rovman Powell to post a huge total of 254/6, batting first against Zimbabwe.
Hetmyer led the charge and set the stage for a big total for West Indies with his brilliant 84 after a sluggish start from the Shai Hope-led side. Asked to bat first, West Indies lost their openers, Brandon King and Hope, cheaply inside the Powerplay, but Hetmyer helped them stage a phenomenal fightback with a sensational innings under pressure.
The explosive left-hander, who has been in excellent form in the tournament, made his intentions clear by getting off the mark in style with a boundary. He took the atatck to the Zimbabwe bowlers from the onset and raced to his fifty off just 19 balls, recording the fastest fifty by a West Indies batter in a T20 World Cup game.
He broke his own record, having scored a 22-ball fifty against Scotland in the group stage of the ongoing tournament. Hetmyer continued his onslaught after completing his fifty with a six against Sikandar Raza and ended up smashing 84 off 35 balls, which was laced with seven sixes and as many fours. His strike rate of 250 is the best by any batter with a minimum of 30 balls faced in an innings in the T20 World Cup.
Highest totals in T20 World Cup:
260/6 – SL vs KEN, Joburg, 2007
254/6 – WI vs ZIM, Wankhede, 2026*
235/5 – IRE vs OMAN, Colombo SSC, 2026
230/8 – ENG vs SA, Wankhede, 2016
229/4 – SA vs ENG, Wankhede, 2016
More to follow…