New Delhi: Indian players dismissed all the batting concerns they had in the T20 World Cup 2026 by posting their highest-ever total in the history of the competition and also the highest in this edition. During the must-win Super 8 clash against Zimbabwe on Thursday, the defending champions posted an imposing 256 runs on the board smashing 17 sixes after being put into bat first.
They surpassed their previous best of 218/4 scored against England in Durban in the 2007 edition of the ICC event, also surpassing West Indies’ 254/6 against Zimbabwe in this edition to record the highest total as all their batters unleashed the beast mode against the Zimbabweans. This is also the second-highest total overall in the history of the ICC event.
Abhishek roars back to form
Meanwhile Abhishek Sharma roared back to form with a blistering half-century after multiple failures, Tilak Varma played a blinder along with valuable knocks from skipper Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya as Indian shrugged off all their concerns in the batting department.
Sanju Samson and Abhishek opened the innings for the side with the former departing for 24 runs after showcasing glimpses of fire. Abhishek then took charge of the innings with a 26-ball fifty, finally departing for 55 runs off 30 balls. Ishan and Suryakumar then joined the party with blistering knocks of 38 and 33 to push the Zimbabwe bowlers against the wall.
Hardik, Tilak sizzle
Hardik and Tilak took charge in the final overs with fiery hitting to take India beyond the 250-run mark. While Hardik remained unbeaten on 50 off just 23 balls, Tilak excelled with 16-ball 44-run knock as the side roared in the Chennai stadium.
Highest total in T20 World Cups
260/6 SL vs Ken Joburg 2007
256/4 Ind vs Zim Chennai 2026 *
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