Brian Bennett’s Heroic Unbeaten 97 In Vain As India Eliminate Zimbabwe From T20 World Cup

Brian Bennett Smashes 97 Against India But Zimbabwe Bow Out Of T20 World Cup

A sensational unbeaten knock of 97 runs from Zimbabwe’s young sensation Brian Bennett was the only shining light in an otherwise dominant performance by India, who crushed the Chevrons by 72 runs at the T20 World Cup to book their spot in a knockout clash against the West Indies.

The 22-year-old Bennett produced a batting masterclass against the tournament favourites, smashing eight fours and six sixes off just 59 deliveries at a strike rate of 164.4. His valiant effort, however, was not enough to chase down India’s mammoth total of 256 for 4, as Zimbabwe were restricted to 184 for 6 in their 20 overs.

India’s Batting Onslaught

India, opting to bat first after Zimbabwe read the conditions correctly and expected help for their fast bowlers, unleashed an absolute barrage of runs. The men in blue smashed 17 sixes, the most by India in a single T20 World Cup innings, to post the second-highest total in the history of the tournament. This comes just days after Zimbabwe conceded 254 in their last match.

Abhishek Sharma finally found his form, scoring his maiden World Cup fifty with a brisk 55, while Hardik Pandya blasted an unbeaten 50 off just 23 balls. According to ESPNcricinfo, India made a tactical change to break up their cluster of left-hand batters, bringing in Sanju Samson, who provided a quickfire start with 24 off 15 balls.

“Their reading of conditions was accurate, but the execution was much better from the much more experienced India bowlers,” reported ESPNcricinfo, highlighting how India kept Zimbabwe to just 33 runs in the first five overs, effectively ending the contest early.

Brian Bennett's Heroic 97 In Vain As India Eliminate Zimbabwe From T20 World Cup — [Image: Espn Cric Info]

Costly Catches And A Lone Warrior

Zimbabwe’s fielding woes continued to plague their campaign, with the team dropping two crucial catches. This takes their tally of dropped catches in the Super Eight stage to five in just two matches, a stark contrast to the single drop they had in the entire first round. The missed chances allowed Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav to build valuable partnerships.

Despite the pressure, Bennett stood tall. One fan on X, @CricBhakt7380, highlighted his incredible tournament consistency:

“Brian Bennet in this T20 WC 2026 :

48(36)* vs Oman

• 64(56)* vs Australia

• 63(48) vs Sri Lanka

• 5(5) vs West Indies

• 97(57) vs India.

Form is temporary, but Bennett’s consistency is frightening.”

His innings was a beacon of hope as wickets tumbled at the other end. Another user, @friendlycheema_, pointed out the staggering statistics:

“brian bennet is now the 2nd highest runscorer of the wt20 202 – bro also averages almost 300 in WT20 !! can you believe he averages THREE HUNDREDD in WC brian bennet is serious bat ”

The International Cricket Council (ICC) also posted on X, celebrating his performance with the caption,

“Average in #T20WorldCup 2026: 277* Not outs: 4. This is a Brian Bennett appreciation post .”

Zimbabwean fans, while disappointed with the loss, were proud of their young star.

Zimbabwe’s Campaign Ends

With this loss, Zimbabwe are now officially out of the tournament. However, Bennett’s emergence as a world-class talent is a major positive for the Chevrons. His tournament aggregate of 277 runs in five innings, with four not-outs, places him second on the overall run-scorers list, only behind Pakistan’s Sahibzada Farhan. He also leads the charts for the best batting average (277.00) and most fours (31) in the competition.

India, on the other hand, march on to face the West Indies in what promises to be a thrilling knockout encounter. While comfortable in their victory, they will have concerns after their mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy conceded 35 runs in his spell and Shivam Dube went for 46 runs in just two overs.

As Zimbabwe head home, they carry with them the memory of a young batsman who took on one of the world’s best bowling attacks—featuring the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, and Axar Patel—and almost single-handedly gave the fans something to cheer about.