Top 6 highest run chases in T20 internationals

#5 South Africa vs West Indies, September 2007

It was September in 2007, and the inaugural T20 World Cup was capturing the imagination of the public in South Africa and the world over. This particular match was between the hosts and the West Indies, a group A encounter in Johannesburg.

Chris Gayle, a constant feature in this thread on T20, was making his presence felt even then. He had helped the Windies post an impressive 205-6 aided largely by a 57-ball 117 from the lanky left-hander. Gayle struck 10 sixes to get the crowd going, and his effort was accentuated by the fact that the next best score on the sheet read 35 by Devon Smith.

Still in the early stages of its evolution, most people thought that the total was far too much to overhaul. Herschelle Gibbs though was not one prone to conventional thinking. In the able company of Justin Kemp, the opener played some scintillating cricket to keep South Africa in the hunt.

Gibbs struck 14 boundaries and two sixes as he built up the chase with his meticulously planned 90 off 55 balls. At the other end, Kemp produced a little gem – a 22-ball 46 – to see the hosts through with an incredible 14 balls to spare.

It was a game that taught cricket fans of the immense possibilities of the T20 format.