The T20 format has drastically changed the game in the last 15 years. The batsmen are more attacking in their approach and the bowlers have come up with different tactics to bowl economically; setting cricket odds highly in favour of the team with the most effective players.
As players innovate their style, the predictability of the outcome for each match has become quite a challenge – making hard-core cricket fans rely much on online cricket betting tips to weigh down the options.
There have been some record breaking T20 moments in the history of the game and we take a look at five of them.
Here are the top five moments
1. India winning Bowl-out against Pakistan in 2007 T20 World Cup
The 10th match in the 2007 World Cup between arch-rivals India and Pakistan ended in a thrilling tie as both teams scored 141 runs. There was no Super Over rule back then and the match was decided by a bowl-out.
India’s Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag and Robin Uthappa were able to hit the bullseye whereas Pakistan’s Yasir Arafat, Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul missed their target. Ergo, India won 3-0 and took the points.
2. India winning the maiden T20I World Cup in 2007
A young MS Dhoni led India to glory in the T20 World Cup in 2007, hosted by South Africa. India defeated Pakistan by five runs in the final of the competition and a new era was born. The big senior players had backed out and thus not many had put their money on India as they lacked in experience.
The win sparked a new interest in the format and there was no looking back.
3. West Indies winning against Sri Lanka in 2012 World Cup final
West Indies found themselves behind the eight-ball when they were tottering for 87-5 in the final of the 2012 T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka. However, Marlon Samuels scored 78 to inspire his team and put a fighting total of 137 runs on the board.
In reply, Sri Lanka skittled out for 101 runs and the West Indies won by 36 runs to win their maiden T20 World Cup.
4. West Indies defeating England in the 2016 World Cup final
19 runs were needed off the final over for West Indies to become the first team to win the T20 World Cup twice. 19 runs is a big task in the final over but Carlos Brathwaite smashed four consecutive sixes against Ben Stokes to help his team seal the deal by four wickets. Brathwaite was at his best in the final over and Stokes was under the cosh after getting hit for the first six.
West Indies were in a tussle with their board at that time and the T20 World Cup win could not have come at a better time for them.
5. Afghanistan posting 278 vs Ireland
Afghanistan players have always impressed with their skills in the shortest format. The team batted at the top of their game to post 278 against Ireland at Dehradun in February 2019, which is the highest T20I score by a team. Hazratullah Zazai clobbered an unbeaten 162 off just 62 balls, which is the second highest score in the T20I version. In response, Ireland scored 194 runs and lost by 86 runs. Czech Republic also scored 278 against Turkey in August 2019.