India crushed Zimbabwe by 71 runs to enter the semis as table-toppers

India thrashed Zimbabwe by 71 runs at the MCG to top the Group 2 table. India will play England in the second semi-final at the Adelaide Oval on November 10. Chasing a big target of 187, Zimbabwe was bowled out to 115 in 17.2 overs. All-rounder Sikandar Raza (34) and Ryan Burl (35) gave some hope for Zimbabwe, but Indian bowlers produced a clinical performance to outplay the opponents. For India, Ravichandran Ashwin starred with figures of 3/22.

Opting to bat first, India had a shaky start as skipper Rohit Sharma yet again failed to score big and departed early for 15. Meanwhile, KL Rahul continued with his fine form and went on to hit a consecutive half-century. Rahul and Virat Kohli steadied the Indian innings by adding 60-runs for the second wicket.

Sean Williams provided the much-needed breakthrough by dismissing Kohli for 26. In the next over, Raza removed Rahul, who scored a 35-ball 51. Suryakumar Yadav continued his terrific run and explored all corners of MCG with his 360-degree shot-making abilities. Suryakumar blasted an explosive unbeaten 61 from just 25 balls and helped India to pile up a gigantic 186/5 in 20 overs.

Zimbabwe in response had a poor start as Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Arshdeep Singh scalped a wicket each in the first two overs. Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya struck in their very first over and reduced Zimbabwe to 31/4. Raza and Burl showed some resistance before Ashwin initiated the collapse by bowling out Burl. Indian bowlers then took regular wickets to register a dominant win.