West Indies marching towards victory against Zimbabwe

Shimron Hetmyer took 19 balls to reach his fifty

West Indies welcomed Zimbabwe to their first T20 World Cup Super Eight with a turbo-charged batting performance. They posted 254/6 in 20 overs, the highest team total at this World Cup and the second highest in T20 World Cup history.

Chasing a mammoth total, Zimbabwe are under pressure early on, slipping to 20/3 inside the first three overs. Matthew Forde provided the breakthrough with the wicket of Tadiwanashe Marumani, while Akeal Hosein knocked the top of off stump to dismiss Brian Bennett on the very next ball. It was the first time in this tournament that Bennett was out. Zimbabwe have recovered to 87/4 in 10 overs, but still have a mountain of runs to climb.

Electing to field first, Zimbabwe restricted West Indies to 55/2 in powerplay, they couldn't keep a lid on the power-packed batting line-up for too long.

Shimron Hetmyer, who was given two lives, including one when was only on nine, made Zimbabwe pay dearly. He brought up his 50 with a six off captain Sikandar Raza. The 19-ball half-century was the fastest by a West Indian batter in T20 World Cups and the joint fastest of this edition.

A fiery knock of 85, off 34 balls and studded with seven fours and seven sixes, finally ended with Brian Bennett holding on to the catch on the boundary off Graeme Cremer.

After a steady start, Rovman Powell (59) also shifted into high gear, scoring his 50 in 29 balls. The power-packed West Indies breezed past milestones -- Powell-Hetmyer brought up the joint fastest 100-run partnership in this World Cup and the team crossed the 150-mark inside 13 overs.

West Indies continued the blitz even after Hetmyer and Powell were sent back. They hit a total of 19 sixes and 16 fours to bring up the first 250 of this World Cup. (Agencies)

West Indies: 254 for 6 in 20 overs

(S. Hetmyer 85, R. Powell 59, S. Rutherford 31*, B. Muzarabani 2-42, R. Ngarava 2-47, G. Cremer 1-38, B. Evans 1-46)

Zimbabwe: 147 in 17.4 overs

(D. Myers 28, S. Raza 27, G. Motie 4-28, A. Hosein 3-28, M. Forde 2-27, J. Holder 1-25)