Chennai, Feb. 27 -- Dinesh Karthik has backed India to persist with their new-look opening combination after a dominant batting display against Zimbabwe set up a virtual knockout against West Indie at Eden Gardens on Sunday in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.
India received contributions from all of their top six batters as they piled up 256 for 4, the highest total of this edition and the second highest in the tournament's history, to overwhelm Zimbabwe on Thursday.
The revamped opening pair of Abhishek Sharma (55) and Sanju Samson (24) laid a strong foundation in the powerplay, before Ishan Kishan (38) and captain Suryakumar Yadav (33) kept the tempo high. Hardik Pandya (50) and Tilak Varma (44) then provided a late surge to take India...