West Indies reflect on near-perfect T20WC performance
The West Indies nearly broke the all-time Men's T20 World Cup run total record on their way to a fifth-straight tournament win. But they're not satisfied yet.
The unbeaten West Indies finished only six runs shy of Sri Lanka's all-time ICC Men's T20 World Cup run total record of 260/6.
Shimron Hetmyer was immense, blasting a 19-ball half century on his way to 85 off 34 balls.
And their spin attack was just as impressive, suffocating Zimbabwe to snuff out any hope of a miracle run chase, helping the Windies complete a dominant 107-run win.
All-round West Indies ease past Zimbabwe | Match Highlights | T20WC 2026
West Indies beat Zimbabwe by 107 runs to remain unbeaten at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
But captain Shai Hope, proud of his batting unit's efforts, is staying firmly grounded. They're still at least a win away from securing their semi-finals spot and carry belief they can go all the way, having already achieved the ultimate prize in this tournament twice previously.
"When you get 250 plus on the board in a T20 game, then you must be happy as a batting unit," Hope told media post-game.
"And then with the ball being as clinical as we did in that, especially in the middle phase and Powerplay ... I would call it more of a complete game for us but if you want to be picky there's always areas that you can improve.
"There's always ways and areas that you can find to improve."
Hetmyer's monster hit | Sobha POTD | 23 February
mT20WC26_Super_8_DAY3_Sobha-POTD_Shimron_Heymyer_Moment-2.mp4 (2026-02-23 18:21:55Z)
The Windies' 254/6 was their highest total in a Men's T20 World Cup. But Hope has firmly shut down suggestions they're ready to spend any time reflecting on that just yet.
"This is the stage of the tournament where you're more focused on playing your best cricket," he continued.
"If you do happen to get past those milestones, then you talk about it at the end and guys will congratulate each other. But it's definitely not at the forefront.
"You never go to bat thinking, OK, I want to score 275 or 350 in a T20 game. It's just about getting as many runs as you can and putting the opposition under pressure. I think the first question, I just believe the way we've been playing, it certainly gives us a lot of confidence. You can't always say we've got to stay in the moment. Yes, we've played well to this stage, but again, we've got another game in a few days and we've got to make sure we turn up on that day again.
"So, great start, great confidence booster. But those games are gone. We've got to look ahead now. We've got South Africa next, and then India after. So we've got to keep playing our best cricket. If we can get better, continue getting better. If we're doing well, continue doing it."
Their fast approaching blockbuster against South Africa in Ahmedabad will likely decide who tops Group 1 in the Super Eight stage. The winner will almost certainly clinch a spot in the final four.
There is some huge T20 World Cup cricket ahead.
State of Play: Equation for teams in race for semis at T20WC
