10 Unbreakable records in the T20 format

The first ever T20 international was played on Feb 17, 2005, between Australia and New Zealand at Eden Park, Auckland which the visitors won. Since then, this brand of cricket has flourished on the global platform and it has become the most beloved format of the game among the viewers. Though Test cricket and ODI still remain a priority for the cricket lovers, twenty 20 cricket has carved out its own niche by providing some mouth-watering encounters. From the batsmen hitting the ball to all the parts of the ground to the bowlers uprooting the middle stump, from flying spectacular grabs to bullseye throws, T20 cricket has all the ingredients to become a hit on the box office. Dominated by batsmen, the format owns a few scintillating records and things which felt like a dream only a few years ago are being achieved easily these days. Here we bring you 10 such unbreakable records in the shortest format: 1. Yuvraj Singh’s fastest fifty Yuvraj Singh. (Photo Source: IANS) The moment came in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 in the match between India and England. That Durban night would surely be remembered for Yuvraj’s six sixes off Stuart Broad in a single over. Andrew Flintoff had a tussle with the left-handed batsman just before the historic over and the poor Stuart Broad had to bear the brunt. The crowd went berserk and so did Ravi Shastri who was commentating on air. The southpaw was in the zone in that game and played a crucial role in propelling the team’s score over 200 in a must-win game. Yuvraj celebrated his six sixes in style, as he notched up his half-century in just 12 balls. He holds the record for the fastest fifty in T20I cricket. 2. Mohammad Irfan’s most economical spell Mohammad Irfan. (Photo by Randy Brooks – CPL T20/Getty Images) The tallest player to have played the game so far, Mohammad Irfan came into limelight when he bowled the most economical spell in the history of the shortest format. Irfan created history while bowling in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) for Barbados Tridents in August last year. The left arm seamer from Pakistan bowled a brilliant spell of four overs giving only 1 run and taking 2 wickets against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. That spell included the wickets of West Indies international Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis. Although, he ended up on the losing side as the Patriots chased down the target of 148 at ease. He holds the record of bowling the most economical spell in Twenty 20 cricket. 3. Sri Lanka thrashing Kenya by 172 runs Sri Lanka vs Kenya 2007. (Photo by Julian Herbert/Getty Images) Kenya was at the receiving end against the strong Sri Lankan side as both the teams went head to head in the first edition of T20 World Cup in 2007 at Johannesburg. Kenya won the toss and they elected to field first. Lankan skipper Sanath Jayasuriya smashed a quickfire 88 runs at a strike rate of 200 getting ample support from Mahela Jayawardene and Jehan Mubarak who scored 65 and 46 respectively. Kenyan bowlers were smashed all over the park as Sri Lanka scored a mammoth 260 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Kenya were bundled out for just 88 runs in the 20th over and hence lost the match by a huge margin of 172 runs. The record is still unbroken in terms of a winning margin by runs. 4. Isuru Udana’s 84-run knock against South Africa batting at 8 Isuru Udana. (Photo by Richard Huggard/Gallo Images) Sri Lanka were whitewashed in the three-match T20I series on their South Africa earlier this year. But the second game of the series was a memorable for their bowler Isuru Udana. Reeza Hendricks scored 65 runs and with ample support from Rassie Van Der Dussen and JP Duminy, the Proteas batting first managed to score 180 runs for the loss of 3 wickets. Chasing a stiff target of 181, Sri Lanka got off to the worst possible start when they lost 6 wickets for just 62 runs at halfway stage. Then came Isuru Udana at number 8 and played a counter-attacking knock of 84 runs of just 48 balls. The knock included 6 sixes and 8 fours. However, despite his effort, Sri Lanka fell short by 16 runs. This is the highest score in this format by a batsman batting at number 8 in the T20Is till date. 5. Sunil Narine’s wicket maiden super over Sunil Narine. (Photo Source: Twitter) Windies spinner Sunil Narine became the first bowler in T20 history to bowl a maiden super over. The match was played between Red steel and Guyana Amazon Warriors in Caribbean Premier League (CPL) in 2014. The scores were tied after the stipulated 20 overs as both the teams scored 118 runs with the bat and the match went to the super over. The Warriors batting first in the super over gave a target of 12 runs to the Steels. Sunil Narine was entrusted with the responsibility of defending 12 runs for the Warriors and he did not disappoint. In a high-pressure game, he managed to bowl a maiden over to Nicholas Pooran and Ross Taylor and eventually took the wicket of the former on the fifth ball. It was an unbelievable performance by Narine to bowl a maiden in the super over and till date, it is a record. 6. Chris Gayle’s 175-run knock against PWI Chris Gayle. (Photo Source: Twitter) The hapless Pune Warriors were blown away by Chris Gayle in the 2013 edition of IPL. Ishwar Pandey, the leading wicket-taker in the Ranji Trophy that season went for 21 runs in the first over of the innings courtesy Chris Gayle. Other bowlers including Ali Murtaza, Mitchell Marsh were also at the receiving end at the hands of a Gayle-storm. Gayle was in the mood on the day and he ripped apart the opposition bowling attack. He didn’t get out for the entire innings and ended with 175 runs to his name off just 66 deliveries to propel his team RCB to a mammoth total of 263 runs for the loss of five wickets. PWI were no match in the chase as they lost the game by a massive 130 runs. 7. Gayle’s 17 sixes in an innings Chris Gayle celebrates his hundred. (Photo Source: Twitter) During the innings of 175 against the Pune Warriors, the Calypso King smashed 102 out of 175 runs only in sixes. What a high percentage of sixes to have! The innings break was postponed by some time as the ball boys were busy collecting the balls that went for sixes. Most of the bowlers went for over 15 runs per over that day, as Gayle storm helped RCB to reach a mammoth total of 263. As many as 17 sixes were smacked by Gayle to go with 13 brutal fours as all the bowlers faced the wrath of his batting on the day. 8. Chris Gayle’s fastest T20 century Chris Gayle plays a shot. (Photo Source: Twitter) The “Six machine” smashed a hundred of just 30 balls against the Pune Warriors, which till date is the fastest ton in any form of professional cricket. It was a forgettable day for the Pune Warriors as Gayle was literally unstoppable on that particular day. His first fifty came off just 17 deliveries as he took a bit of time early on to get settled. But the last next 50 runs came very quickly within a blink of an eye. Gayle took only 13 balls more to reach the three-figure and created a world record. 9. Ryan Campbell – The Oldest player Ryan Campbell. (Photo by James Knowler/Getty Images) When a sportsman reaches the age of 44, more often than not he thinks of quitting the sport. But in Ryan Campbell’s case, it was different. Ryan, who kept wickets for Hong Kong holds the record for playing his debut T20I match at 44 years of age. He achieved this feat in a World cup encounter against Zimbabwe in 2016 at the Vidarbha Cricket Association stadium in Nagpur. Zimbabwe managed a closely fought win against Hong Kong in this particular match. Before turning up for Hong Kong he has played a few matches for Australia as well. He was born in Perth, Australia and is currently the head coach of the Netherlands cricket team. 10. MS Dhoni’s record as T20 captain MS Dhoni. (Photo: IANS) Who would have thought that the long-haired guy from Jharkhand would set up a world record and that too captaining a side? MS Dhoni has led his team in 266 twenty matches so far. The teams include the Indian National team, Chennai Super Kings and Rising Pune Supergiants in IPL and Champions League too. Currently, Dhoni only leads Chennai Super Kings and the figure of 266 is all set to increase in the future. He is one of the most successful captains in the T20 Internationals winning 41 out of 72 matches. He is the most successful IPL captain as well. 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10 Unbreakable records in the T20 format

These records are tough to break in the near future at least.

7. Gayle’s 17 sixes in an innings

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