Top 5 records that were broken in the epic England-South Africa ICC World T20 clash

After few gave them any chance, England recorded one of the most brilliant comebacks in T20I history as they chased down 230 and secured the second-best run-chase in the format’s history and claimed their first win of the 2016 World T20 by beating South Africa at the Wankhede.After winning the toss and electing to field, England were given a mountain to climb thanks to fifties from Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla and JP Duminy. Chasing 230 was only ever done once before and thanks to Jason Roy and Man of the Match Joe Root, England achieved that with two balls to spare.Here are some of the records that were broken in the match.

#5 Fastest T20I fifty by a South African batsman

This was de Kock's maiden T20I fifty

In the last two matches, South Africa have been breaking records for fun. In their previous T20I, AB de Villiers broke the record for the fastest fifty by a South African batsman in T20Is and in the game against England, Quinton de Kock followed in his footsteps as he scored his maiden T20I fifty in just 21 balls to equal the record that has been in AB’s possession for just a matter of days.

What was impressive about de Kock’s knock was that he was out in the 40s six times before he got to his maiden T20I half-century against England. In his blistering knock, the Proteas keeper smashed 7 fours and hit three sixes and ended the innings with a strike rate of 216.66

#4 Highest run chase in a World T20 match

South Africa have another unwanted record to their name

The record for the previous highest total ever chased in a World T20 was held by South Africa, somewhat fittingly it was against them that the record was broken. South Africa’s chase of 208/2 against West Indies in the opening game of the inaugural World T20 has been the highest total chased until Friday.

Back then, South Africa achieved that milestone on the back of a 90 from Herschelle Gibbs and cameos from AB de Villiers and Justin Kemp. In Mumbai, it was thanks to Jason Roy brisk cameo at the start and Joe Root’s composed knock until the very end.

The chase was the second highest in T20Is, the second highest in the history of T20s. It was also the highest successful chase in the history of World T20s and the highest total chased in a T20 held in India.

#3 Most losses when defending 200+ totals in T20Is

South Africa were on the receiving end once again

The current South Africa side may have one of the best batting line-ups in T20I history but they also have a weak bowling attack that isn’t always great at defending targets. The world record for the highest run chase in a T20I came against South Africa last year, when West Indies scored 236 to win.

In fact, in the list of the top five biggest run-chases in T20I history, South Africa feature four times. But thrice on the losing side. Yes, you read it right, despite posting a total in excess of 200, the Proteas have lost thrice, which is one more than the record they jointly-held with Australia before the start of this game.

In fact, it is curious to note that all occurences have come since January 2015, with the fourth-biggest run-chase in T20I history, being the one achieved by Australia only a couple of weeks ago.

#2 Most combined runs in first 6 overs in a T20I match

Roy helped England post their highest powerplay score in T20Is

With fielders up in the ring and only two men allowed to patrol the boundary, it is no surprise to note that the powerplay is often when the bulk of the scoring is done by most teams. All you need to do is pick a gap and the ball races away to the boundary, so the first six overs are usually among the most expensive in an innings.

The Proteas managed to score 83 in their powerplay in Mumbai and if you thought that was a lot, then England gave everyone a rude awakening by smashing 89 runs in their powerplay, thereby beating their previous record of most runs in power play, which was just 67 and finishing as the third-best power play score in the history of T20Is, with only Netherlands (91) and New Zealand (90) having scored more than them.

So it was no surprise then that the match broke the record of the most combined runs in the first 6 overs of a T20I match, with 172, thereby beating the previous record of 171 set in the New Zealand vs Scotland game in 2009.

In fact, only one match, Tasmania vs New South Wales in Hobart had more runs in the first 6 overs, with 173.

#1 Most runs between dismissals in T20Is

Amla was in record-breaking form

Hashim Amla has a career T20I average in excess of 30 and contrary to popular belief, his strike rate of 130.8 isn't too shabby either. But it is ridiculous to think that if it wasn’t for Amla’s unbeaten 97 against Australia two weeks ago, he wouldn’t have even made the starting XI for the Proteas.

Ever since he has been given a chance, Amla has been determined to prove people wrong and he did so in the best way possible, with his bat. When he was eventually dismissed for 58, Amla had scored 224 consecutive runs in T20Is, beating the previous record set by Martin Guptill, who had scored 216 runs before being dismissed.

Amla’s last three scores, before being dismissed today were 69* against England, 97* against Australia and 58 in Mumbai.