New Delhi: Arshdeep Singh surpassed Jasprit Bumrah’s record as India defeated Zimbabwe by 72 runs in their Super 8 match of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Thursday, February 26. With this victory, the Men in Blue keep their semifinal hopes alive and need to beat the West Indies in a virtual quarterfinal to book a spot in the last four.
Arshdeep picked up three wickets against Zimbabwe to become India’s leading wicket-taker in T20 World Cup history. The left-arm pacer surpassed Bumrah’s tally of 33 wickets to climb to the top with 35 scalps from just 19 innings, at an average of 14.25 with an economy rate of 7.33.
He also became India’s second-highest wicket-taker of the 2026 T20 World Cup, having taken eight wickets from five innings at an average of 16 and an economy of 7.11. He took the new ball and gave away just four runs in his first over, although he conceded nine runs in his second.
Arshdeep returned to the attack in the 17th over and removed Sikandar Raza (31) to take his first wicket of the match. He then dismissed Ryan Burl for a duck in the same over. Arshdeep removed Tony Munyonga (11) in his final over to complete his three-wicket haul.
He also surpassed Trent Boult’s tally of 34 wickets and became the most successful left-arm pacer in T20 World Cups with 35 scalps. Arshdeep made his T20 World Cup debut in 2022 and picked up 10 wickets in 8 matches. He took 17 wickets in the 2024 edition and was the leading wicket-taker along with Afghanistan’s Fazalhaq Farooqi. Arshdeep has taken 8 wickets in the ongoing edition, so far.
Earlier, India posted a huge total of 256/4 in the 20 overs. Abhishek Sharma returned to form and scored his first fifty of the tournament. He smashed 55 runs off 30 deliveries with the help of four boundaries and four maximums.
Apart from him, Hardik Pandya (50*) and Tilak Varma (44* off 16) provided the explosive finish to the innings with an 81-run stand that came off 31 balls. Meanwhile, the Men in Blue will now face the West Indies in their final Super 8 clash in Kolkata on Sunday, 28 February, with a spot in the semi-final at stake.
