West Indies' Daren Sammy wary of motivated Zimbabwe ahead of T20 World Cup clash

Both nations surprisingly topped their respective groups without a defeat to advance to the Super Eights phase of the tournament, with Zimbabwe shocking co-hosts Sri Lanka and former champions Australia.

"I'm pretty sure Zimbabwe, looking at that group there, gave them motivation and inspiration to come out and play the way they played, said Sammy to the media ahead of the match.

"Like us, they (Zimbabwe) are very confident, they are playing some good cricket. T20 is a format that brings teams closer together. There's no clear-cut winner. These guys have played well."

The last T20 World Cup encounter between the two teams ended in a 31-run victory for West Indies back in October 2022, with England emerging eventual champions.

"There are a lot of things that (are) going for them," added Sammy.

"I could understand from that standpoint, where nobody gives you a chance, how you could use that as inspiration.

"It's the first time in a long time that we've had every single person that is available for West Indies playing. Plus, the guys believe they could do something special, that's what I saw and that's why I said it from the first press conference, I feel we could do something special."

The two sides will do battle at the Wankhede Stadium.