The Wankhede Stadium witnessed a historic second on Monday, February 23, as Zimbabwe‘s younger prodigy Brian Bennett was lastly dismissed for the primary time within the T20 World Cup 2026.
Getting into the Tremendous 8 conflict towards the West Indies with a staggering unbeaten streak, Bennett’s luck ran out towards a world-class piece of left-arm spin from Akeal Hosein. Chasing a monumental goal of 255, the Zimbabwean opener was cleaned up by a supply that has already been labeled the ‘ball of the match.’ The dismissal not solely ended a exceptional particular person run but additionally signaled the start of a catastrophic Powerplay for the Zimbabwe, who discovered themselves reeling underneath the scoreboard stress of a record-breaking West Indian complete.
Akeal Hosein’s ‘ripper’ ends Brian Bennett’s file unbeaten run in T20 World Cup 2026
The dismissal occurred on the very first ball of the third over, delivered at a exact 85.4 kph. Akeal Hosein produced a traditional “ripper” that drifted in towards the leg stump, dipped sharply to deceive the batter in flight, after which gripped the floor to spin away with venom. Bennett, making an attempt to keep up his aggressive intent by swinging throughout the road, was fully overwhelmed by the lateral motion. The ball bypassed the surface edge and crashed into the highest of the off-stump, leaving the Wankhede crowd in awe. Up till this supply, Bennett had amassed 175 runs within the competitors with out dropping his wicket as soon as, making this ‘Timber!’ second some of the important highlights of the Tremendous 8 stage.
Right here’s the video:
Additionally READ: T20 World Cup 2026: Sunil Gavaskar slams star India batter following humiliating defeat against South Africa
Wankhede carnage towards Zimbabwe: West Indies put up gigantic 254/6
The wicket of Bennett could possibly be the ultimate nail within the coffin for a chase that’s already thought of ‘inconceivable.’ Earlier within the night, the West Indies produced a record-breaking batting efficiency to pile up 254/6, the best complete of this World Cup and the second-highest within the historical past of the T20 World Cup. The carnage was spearheaded by Shimron Hetmyer, who smashed a panoramic 85 off simply 34 balls, together with seven large sixes. Hetmyer reached his half-century in a mere 19 balls, setting a brand new file for the quickest fifty by a West Indian within the match’s historical past. He was ably supported by former captain Rovman Powell, who hammered 59 off 35, because the pair shared a demoralizing 122-run stand that left the Zimbabwean bowlers fully out of concepts.
Powerplay collapse: Zimbabwe prime order fail towards Hosein
The fallout from Bennett’s dismissal was speedy and devastating, as Hosein accomplished a sensational double-wicket maiden by eradicating Ryan Burl for a duck simply three balls later. With Matthew Forde having already claimed the wicket of Tadiwanashe Marumani, Zimbabwe collapsed to twenty/3 within the house of simply 5 deliveries. This outcome carries large implications for Staff India, because the West Indies’ dominant NRR enhance places immense stress on the defending champions to win their upcoming fixtures towards Zimbabwe and the Windies convincingly. Because the Powerplay concluded with Zimbabwe at 47/3, the duty forward for Sikandar Raza‘s males grew to become a matter of survival fairly than victory.
Additionally READ: Not Virat Kohli! Google CEO Sundar Pichai names his cricketing idol
