World T20 records that might be broken in the 2016 edition

There have been five editions of the World T20 ever since the inception of the tournament in 2007, with many scripts and records being etched already in a decade long span.Traditionally, West Indies and Sri Lanka have been two teams who have thrived in the T20 format internationally, while not finding a similar groove in the longer formats. Australia, on the other hand, have never made their mark in the T20 format, despite being world beaters in the other formats.Some individuals have participated in all World T20s ever held, and these are the players whose names stand alongside the all-time records list of the tournament.These records will come under threat as the main stages of the tournament starts on Monday. A look at a few major records that might be broken:

#1 Most successful team at World T20s

Sri Lanka, with 22 wins out of 31 matches played at the tournament, are the most successful team in the history of the World T20s. However, recent form is not on their side, and it is likely that the Angelo Mathews-led side will find it difficult to progress to the semis.

They have lost 8 out of the 10 T20 matches they have played this year, with their only wins having come against UAE and India. South Africa and England are favourites to go through to the semis from Group 1, with the other teams being Sr Lanka, West Indies and Afghanistan. Even if Lanka manage two wins out of four, they will not have done enough to qualify, and their win percentage will fall from 71% to 68%.

India (18 wins out of 28; 64%) and South Africa (16 wins out of 26; 62%) are the two teams who stand a chance of toppling Sri Lanka from the top of this list. If India manage to win at least four matches, they climb above 68%.

If either of South Africa or India go on to win the World T20, in all likelihood, they will have become the most successful team in the history of World T20s.

Existing Record – Sri Lanka (win percentage 71)

Candidates for New Record – India, South Africa

#2 Most runs in World T20s

Mahela Jayawardene, who along with Lasith Malinga, Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara, has been one of the four players who have been instrumental parts of all of Sri Lanka’s campaigns since the inception of the tournament in 2007, currently holds the record for the most runs scored in the history of the World T20s.

With 1016 runs in 31 matches (avg: 39; s/r: 135), Jayawardene is also the only batsman whose tally of runs in World T20s goes into four digits. However, that is set to change during the 2016 edition, with a host of batsmen playing in the tournament having a shouting chance of crossing this mark.

Chris Gayle, who is only 199 runs short of the mark, is the likeliest candidate to breach this record. Tillakaratne Dilshan (764 runs) himself, AB de Villiers (607 runs), Rohit Sharma (585 runs), and given his recent form, Virat Kohli (504 runs) are the other batsman who stand an outside chance of reaching four digits in this edition.

Existing Record – Mahela Jayawardene (1016 runs)

Candidates for New Record – Chris Gayle, Tillakaratne Dilshan, AB de Villiers, Rohit Sharma

#3 Most fifties at World T20s

Chris Gayle, who has been the battering ram for West Indies in the history of World T20s, currently holds the record for the most number of fifties at the tournament – 7. Gayle is part of the Windies team at the 2016 edition, and he may well increase this number.9.

There are quite a few batsmen close on his heels in this regard however, with Indian duo Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma (both 6 fifties) being the leading candidates. Tillakaratne Dilshan and Shane Watson (both 5 fifties) are also in with a chance of beating this mark, as is the mercurial AB de Villiers (4 fifties).

Existing Record – Chris Gayle (7 fifties)

Candidates for New Record – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli

#4 Most wickets at World T20s

Lasith Malinga, with 38 wickets, is the leading wicket-taker in the history of World T20s. Malinga has been injury-ravaged and is probably playing his last world event, but this is a record he may well go on to have for the next few years, because of the wide gap between his performances in previous editions and those of the rest.

Shahid Afridi (35 wickets) and Dale Steyn (29 wickets) are the only other two bowlers in the top 10 in the all-time wicket-takers’ list to be featuring in the 2016 edition. Ravichandran Ashwin (16 wickets), who has played only one-third of the number of matches Malinga has played, is the bowler most likely to clinch this record in coming years, but this is a feat beyond him in this edition.

It will be ironic if Afridi manages to overtake Malinga in the 2016 edition and continues to hold this record for a few years, till Ashwin or somebody of the next generation overtakes him.

Existing Record – Lasith Malinga (38 wickets)

Candidates for New Record – Shahid Afridi, Dale Steyn

#5 Most maiden overs at World T20s

Harbhajan Singh, India’s most famous T20 performer, holds the record for most maidens bowled in World T20s, a testament of his ability to produce high-quality spells under pressure. He is the only bowler to have bowled 4 maidens in this tournament’s history, but is unlikely to increase this tally, unless injury visits the Indian camp.

Of the 10 other bowlers who have managed to bowl more than one maiden over in World T20s, the most likely to increase this count is Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir. Amir was in stupendous form in the Asia Cup T20s, and it is quite possible that he bowls at least 2 overs without giving any runs away in the matches in the World T20.

Nuwan Kulasekara (3 maidens) and Angelo Mathews (2 maidens) are the only other bowlers from the top 10 who are playing in the 2016 edition.

Existing Record – Harbhajan Singh (4 maidens)

Candidates for New Record – Mohammad Amir, Nuwan Kulasekara, Angelo Mathews