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The T20 World Cup is the greatest sporting event of T20 matches. A number of records have been set and broken, which proves that the tournament is a glorious spectacle of fierce competition, intent, skill and determination. As the 2022 edition of the World Cup is in progress, let’s take a look at five records from the inaugural T20 World Cup.
The first T20 World Cup was played in 2007 in South Africa. The adrenaline rush involved in T20 matches made this form of cricket an instant hit among the masses. In the process, many records were built. Some of them were broken, but some records have been too tall to be broken even in fifteen years.
Here is a list of five records created in 2007 that are still unbroken in 2022.
1. Highest Team Score
The eighth match of the first T20 World Cup was played between Sri Lanka and Kenya in Johannesburg. The tone of the tournament was set by the Sri Lankan team by setting up a huge total of 260 which remains unbeaten till today. The absolute on-slaught launched by the Sri Lankans was previously unseen.
Sanath Jayasuriya led the Sri Lankan attack by scoring 88 from 44 balls in the process as he hit eleven fours and four sixes. The Sri Lankan great was helped in his exploits by another legend, Mahela Jayawardene, who scored 65 off 27.
Jehan Mubarak applied the finishing touch by scoring a quickfire 46 from 13 deliveries. The Kenyan bowlers were on the receiving end of absolute mayhem. The face of absolute carnage can be ascertained from the fact that every bowler except Thomas Odoyo conceded more than 12 runs per over in the match.
2. Highest margin of defeat
The day Sri Lanka wreaked havoc, not one but two records were made which still remain intact after 15 years. Kenya lost that match by a huge margin of 172 runs, which remains the biggest margin of defeat when runs are considered. After listless bowling, the Kenyan batters failed to show any fight in the game.
The immense pressure of huge runs took over Kenya's inexperienced batting lineup. On a placid wicket, to go anywhere near the target, the Kenyans needed to keep wickets and build partnerships. But they kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Their biggest partnership was the 22 build between David Obuya and Tanmay Mishra.
The work of the Sri Lankan bowlers was made easy by their batters. They kept taking wickets at regular intervals and put pressure on the opposing batsmen. Almost all the Sri Lankan bowlers who bowled in that match took wickets. Alex Obanda, the highest scorer in the Kenyan team, scored only 21.
3. Fastest fifty
One of the most talked about moments of the tournament came when India and England, the two powerhouses of the cricketing world, squared off in Durban. In this high scoring match, Yuvraj Singh scored the fastest fifty in a T20 World Cup.
On match day, Indian top-order batters built the perfect platform to launch a jaw-dropping assault at the back-end of the Indian batting innings. The Indian team were 155 in 16.4 overs when Yuvraj Singh walked onto the field. The left-hander was highly charged with sledging of Andrew Flintoff, which resulted in him hitting Stuart Broad for six sixes in a single over.
The southpaw scored his fifty in 12 deliveries and helped the the team in posting a score of 218 in 20 overs. In the process, Yuvraj slammed 58 from16 deliveries with a strike rate of 362.50.
4. Highest fifth wicket partnership in the T20 World Cup
Pakistan and Australia faced each other in the 18th match of the T20 World Cup 2007. Very few would have given any chance to the Pakistan side against their much fancied opponents.
In the clash between David and Goaliath, Australia batted first and posted a target of 165 for their opponents. In reply, the Pakistan team lost early wickets and found themselves in a very precarious position by losing four wickets for 46 runs in 6.4 overs. When everything looked like it was lost, captain Misbah-ul-Haq delivered one of his finest T20I innings.
Along with Misbah's 66* off 42, Malik played the second fiddle by scoring 52* from 38 deliveries.A record stand of 119 runs for the fifth wicket partnership saw the Pakistan team securing a confidence-boosting victory.
5. Most number of extras in a T20 World Cup match
While some records are made to feel proud of, few are a cause of major embarrassment. The West Indies Cricket team holds one such embarrassing record since the T20 World Cup 2007, wherein they gave away 28 extras against South Africa.
The indisciplined bowling performance of the Caribbean bowlers made it very easy for the Proteas to chase down a mammoth target of 206 within 17.4 overs.
Of the 28 extras, 23 were wide deliveries, which is also the highest number of wides in a T20 World Cup match. Though South Africa themselves came very close to breaking the record in the 2016 T20 World Cup, the fifteen-year-old record still stands tall.
