Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has praised the Indian team for bouncing back strongly in the Super 8 stage of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 after suffering a heavy defeat to South Africa earlier in the tournament. The loss had significantly dented India’s net run rate and raised questions about the team’s approach and playing combination. However, the India national cricket team responded in dominant fashion, defeating the Zimbabwe national cricket team by 72 runs at the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
The win was powered by impressive batting displays from Abhishek Sharma and Hardik Pandya, both of whom scored half-centuries to help India post a massive 256/4. The victory has now set up a virtual quarter-final clash against the West Indies cricket team. Sunil Gavaskar highlighted how India turned the setback into motivation and produced a far more confident performance.
“India bounced back strongly from the South Africa loss with a dominant win over Zimbabwe. The margin of that defeat against South Africa would have shaken the players, but they used it positively versus Sikandar Raza’s team and made a strong comeback,” Sunil Gavaskar said while speaking on JioStar.
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He also pointed out that the team management made bold changes to the playing XI, which paid off immediately. “After the match against South Africa, there was debate about whether India should make changes in the playing XI or not, and they made two changes and both worked out quite well,”Sunil Gavaskar added.
One of those changes was promoting Sanju Samson to open the innings. Gavaskar felt the move helped India break the left-handed combination at the top and provided the team with the aggressive start they desperately needed.
“Sanju Samson didn’t get a fifty, but gave India a flying start,” Sunil Gavaskar said. “Earlier, openers were getting ducks, with Abhishek Sharma getting out for zero runs in three games while Ishan Kishan got out without scoring runs against South Africa. Against Zimbabwe, Samson scored 24 runs in quick fashion. He and Abhishek scored at over 10 runs an over in the Powerplay, which was fantastic.”
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Gavaskar also appreciated the bowling effort, particularly the return of Axar Patel, who helped keep things tight in the middle overs.
“The bowling improved, too. Axar Patel kept things tight and picked a wicket, which was missing against South Africa.” “Scoring 256 with most batters getting time in the middle is great. It builds confidence.” However, Gavaskar issued a warning ahead of India’s decisive clash against the West Indies. “But India cannot take the West Indies lightly. Sunday’s match decides if they go to the semis or wait for the 2028 T20 World Cup,” he concluded.
