India had enjoyed a relatively comfortable passage through the initial group stage, winning all four of their matches and twice passing 190 with the bat, but had their wings clipped by South Africa in their Super 8 opener.
Chasing 187, they were bowled out for 111 – a result which left them in near must-win territory as they headed to Chennai.
Zimbabwe captain Raza, whose side were in a similar position, said at the toss it would “come down to a battle of nerves”. India showed none as they bludgeoned their highest total at a T20 World Cup and passed 250 in a men’s T20I for the fifth time.
Sharma, who came into the match under pressure having registered three ducks in his past four innings, set the tone with a 26-ball half-century.
Initially content to play second fiddle to Sanju Samson, who struck the second ball of the match for six and made a quickfire 24 (15), he led India to 80-1 at the end of the powerplay, striking three fours and three sixes.
His second-wicket partnership with Ishan Kishan (38) was worth 72 runs and although Kishan could not capitalise on Tashinga Musekiwa dropping him on 26, Suryakumar Yadav punished Zimbabwe’s sloppy fielding. Dropped on eight by Blessing Muzarabani, the India skipper thrashed 33 (13).
It was Zimbabwe’s fifth drop from 15 attempts in the Super 8s. In the group stage, during which they were unbeaten, they had a catching efficiency of 95.2% and dropped just one.
Though Suryakumar was striking above 250, his departure flicked a switch for India, with Hardik and Varma piling on 84 runs in the final 5.1 overs, including seven sixes. Hardik accelerated from 12 (8) to 50 not out (23) while Varma found the boundary seven times in 16 deliveries.
On a bruising day, Zimbabwe’s four pace bowlers leaked 3-197 from 14 overs.