After winning the toss, Zimbabwe captain Sikandar Raza put India into bat.
There was a change at the top of the order, as Sanju Samson returned to the playing XI and opened the innings with Sharma. And he was straight into action, belting the second ball of the innings for a six.
Though Samson fell in the fourth over, he set the tone for the Indian innings as they motored to 80/1 in powerplay.
Even after the fielding restrictions were off, India continued to press on. Sharma, who struggled for form earlier in the tournament, laid down the marker with his maiden T20I fifty. He brought up his half-century in 26 balls and finished with 55 off 30, with the help of four fours and four sixes.
The Zimbabwe bowlers were completely at sea, as India went searching for the big runs. Their sloppy fielding — they dropped at least two regulation catches — didn’t help either.
Every Indian batter contributed to the cause as India breezed past the markers — 150 in the 13th over and 200 in the 17th and 250 in the last over. Hardik Pandya and Tilak Varma (44 not out) provided the final flourish, knocking off 84 runs in just 31 balls for the unbeaten fifth-wicket partnership. Pandya struck two sixes off the last two balls to bring up his 50 in 23 balls and take India to that record high.