Shimron Hetmyer survived two dropped chances on Monday as his 85 off just 34 balls and brutal hitting from Rovman Powell and Sherfane Rutherford powered West Indies to a mammoth 254/6 in 20 overs against Zimbabwe – the highest team total in the ongoing edition of the T20 World Cup. In the process, West Indies surpassed Ireland’s 235/5 against Oman.
West Indies’ 254/6 is also the second-highest team total in the T20 World Cups, with Sri Lanka holding the record with 260/6 against Kenya in Johannesburg in the 2007 edition.
Opting to bowl first, Zimbabwe have themselves to blame as Tashinga Musekiwa dropped Hetmyer twice on 9 and 70. As a result, the left-hander smashed seven sixes and as many fours for his 34-ball 85 to put Zimbabwe in backfoot. If Hetmyer’s innings wasn’t enough, Powell 35-bal 59 and Rutherford’s 13-ball 31 added more misery on Sikander Raza’s men.
West Indies could have registered a world record for highest team score in a T20 World Cup had Jason Holder not found Tony Munyonga off Blessing Muzarabani in the third ball of the final over after smashing two back-to-back maximums. It was also the highest score against Zimbabwe in T20Is, bettering India’s 234/2 in 2024 at Harare.
In fact the 19 sixes hit by West Indies is the joint-most in an innings of a T20 World Cup, alongside Netherlands’ 19 against Ireland at Sylhet in 2014. The innings also marked the third 250-plus total for West Indies in T20Is, tying them with Zimbabwe for the joint-second most.
‘We like Mumbai – we like Wankhede’
While Hetmyer laid the platform, Powell stepped up the gas towards the end. Praising Hetmyer, Powell said, “It was obviously a very good wicket. Credit has to be given to Hetmyer. When I was starting, he kind of eased the pressure off me with those good hits, which allowed me to get myself in. Once I got set, it was a good wicket to hit a few sixes.”
For the record, West India have never lost a T20I at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Talking about the advantage about playing at this venue, Powell stated, “we as Caribbean boys, we like Mumbai – we like Wankhede, so it’s definitely a place where we have confidence. It’s a place where we play good cricket. Coming back here to play against Zimbabwe, we knew that if we put pressure on them, they would feel it.”
