India storm past Zimbabwe, keep hopes alive
Tilak Varma blazed 44 not out off 14 balls, powering an unbeaten 84-run stand with Pandya.
The Chennai crowd had come for a spectacle, but what they witnessed was something deeper—a young man playing for his father in the stands.
Abhishek Sharma walked out to bat with the weight of a must-win match on his shoulders, but his feet moved like they belonged to a boy playing gully cricket. Thirty balls later, he had 55 runs, and more importantly, he had given India the start they desperately needed. When he finally walked back, he looked up at the stands, searching for one face. His father’s eyes were wet.
In the dressing room, Hardik Pandya was waiting. For months, he had carried the burden of criticism, of injuries, of doubters questioning whether he still belonged. On Thursday evening, he answered them the only way he knows—with the bat. His unbeaten 50 came off just 23 balls, each boundary carrying the echo of a man silencing his demons. When he hit the final six, he didn’t celebrate. He just looked down, took a breath, and remembered how far he had come.
Beside him, Tilak Varma, just 22 years old, was living every kid’s dream. Fourteen balls, 44 runs. He kept glancing at Pandya, learning, absorbing, realizing that this is what greatness looks like up close.
Across the field, Brian Bennett was fighting a lonely battle. His 97 not out will be forgotten because his team lost, but for him, it was personal. Every run was a message to the selectors who had once overlooked him, to the coaches who said he wasn’t ready. He walked off unbeaten, head high, knowing he had given everything.
Arshdeep Singh, the boy from Punjab who bowls with the fury of a man protecting his family’s honor, took three wickets. Each one was dedicated to his late father, who never got to see him play on this stage.
In the stands, an old man in a faded India jersey wiped tears. He had come alone, spent his month’s pension on this ticket, just to say he was there. As the final ball was bowled, he raised his hands to the sky and whispered: “Thank you.”