Zimbabwe head coach Justin Sammons expects Suryakumar Yadav-led India to come hard in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 encounter at MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on February 24. He expects a similar approach to that of West Indies against the Sikandar Raza-led Zimbabwe at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
“We know India are going to come out in a similar way to West Indies – they won’t hold back. We need to be smarter in how we respond under pressure. At times we were a bit predictable, and that’s something we can improve on,” Sammons told the reporters after Zimbabwe’s 107-run loss to West Indies.
Learnings from massive defeat to West Indies
On a batting-friendly Wankhede Stadium, Zimbabwe paid the price for dropping catches. Shimron Hetmyer's 34-ball 85, Rovman Powell's 35-ball 59, followed by cameos helped West Indies post 254/6, second-highest score in T20 World Cup history. Sammons wants his team to take learnings from the heavy loss and prepare for pressure moments. Sammons talked about the difference between conditions in Sri Lanka and India.
“There’s massive learnings for us. If we look at it, probably only three of our starting XI have played in India before. For eight players, it’s the first time. The conditions are completely different, the grounds are smaller, and the ball comes on better. We’ll take those learnings and move forward,” Sammons said.
ALSO READ: Double body blow to Australia, 2 star players ruled out of ODI series vs India, doubtful for Test
“A couple of mishits here can go for six, whereas in Sri Lanka they might be caught. Harare is also a really big ground, so this is something the group will learn from,” he added.
Sammons lauds Muzarabani
Meanwhile, Sammons lavished praise on pacer Blessing Muzarabani who has claimed 11 wickets from four games at an average of 10.27. He claimed a couple of wickets against West Indies as well. He also talked about the dropped catch of Hetmyer when he was on a single-digit score.
“He’s been brilliant for us. His height is a huge strength, and he’s controlled his line and length very well. If that chance had been taken, the game might have looked very different,” Sammons said.
The big win impacted Zimbabwe’s net run rate (NRR) as well. Their NRR has dipped below India who suffered a 76-run loss against South Africa.