Top 10 Highest team totals in World T20

The 5 previous editions of the World T20 have seen many highs including the quality of cricket and runs scored by teams. The shortest format of the game is dominated by batsmen who love to play freedom. Short boundaries, flat pitches and only 20 overs to bat gives batsmen the licence to swing their bat; something they all love doing. The 6th edition will be held in India and it won’t be a surprise if some of the World T20 batting records are shattered on the country’s batting paradises. Here’s a look at top 10 team total in the global event. 10. England – 196/5 v Afghanistan: England player Luke Wright. (Photo by Ajay Aggarwal/Hindustan Times via Getty Images) England began the defence of their 2010 title with an 116-run hammering of Afghanistan in Colombo on 21st September 2012. Luke Wright produced a blistering 99 off 55 balls after the holders overcame a slightly tricky start in highly convincing fashion. Wright became the second England batsman to be stranded one short of a Twenty20 hundred following Alex Hales’ innings against West Indies earlier that year. Unsurprisingly, Afghanistan came out swinging with predictable results. The English bowlers shared wickets to bundle out the Afghans for a paltry 80 off 17.2 overs. 9. Australia – 197/7 v Pakistan: (Photo Source: Getty Images) The 2010 semi-final in St Lucia on 14th May witnessed one of the greatest ever T20I knocks. Australia and the 2009 defending champions Pakistan produced a match that will be remembered as a benchmark in T20 cricket for the thrill and uncertainty the format provides. Pakistan batted first and scored 191 thanks to half-centuries from the Akmal brothers Kamran and Umar. From a precarious 105/5 in 12 overs, Mike Hussey single-handedly took Australia to the finals with an unbeaten knock of 60 off 24 balls that included 6 sixes and 3 fours. Needing 18 runs off the last over, he hammered the in-form Saeed Ajmal by hitting 3 sixes and a four to seal the deal for the Aussies. 8. New Zealand – 198/5 v Ireland: Scott Styris. (Photo Source: AFP) A spate of injuries forced New Zealand to call up batsman Aaron Redmond to their World Twenty20 squad at short notice and throw him into action straightaway against Ireland in their Super Eights opener at Trent Bridge on 11th June 2009. He answered their call with an astonishing innings, piercing gaps in the infield with pinpoint accuracy to blast 63 off 30. His half-century and cameos from Scott Styris and Martin Guptill ensured a comfortable 83-run victory for the Kiwis. Ireland could manage one 115 off 16.4 overs in a disappointing performance. 7. England – 200/6 v India: England’s Kevin Pietersen. (Photo by ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty Images) At Durban on 19th September 2007, England was set a target of 219 runs by the eventual championship winners India. The English opener Vikram Solanki gave it a real go with a 31-ball 43 by cutting and pulling with immense power, and there was 29 from Darren Maddy as the first-wicket pair kept up with the asking rate. Kevin Pietersen spanked 39 off 23 while Owais Shah and Collingwood flailed away for a while to create some anxiety in the Indian camp, but a brilliant over from their pacer RP Singh settled the team’s nerves. England finished on 200/6 and thereby crashed out of the competition. 6. West Indies – 205/6 v South Africa: Chris Gayle. (© Getty Images) The opening encounter of the first ever World T20 lived upto the hype at the Bullring on 11th September 2007 after the Windies scored 205/6 in the first innings. Chris Gayle’s stunning century – the then highest score in Twenty20 game, surpassing Ricky Ponting’s 98 – went in vain as a dazzling 90 from Herschelle Gibbs, helped by some wretched bowling and fielding, piloted South Africa home with 14 balls remaining, the highest score chased down in 20 internationals. West Indies dropped three catches and bowled a staggering 23 wides in a slipshod display epitomised by Dwayne Smith’s two overs for 37 runs. 5. West Indies – 205/4 v Australia: West Indies team celebrate after winning the superover. (Photo Source: Getty Images) So lopsided was West Indies’ annihilation of Australia in the second semi-final of the World T20 2012 on 5th October in Colombo that the victors had near enough to 13 overs to bask in their looming progress to the final against Sri Lanka. Chris Gayle’s unbeaten 75 off 41 and Kieron Pollard’s brutal 38 off just 15 balls powered the Caribbean islanders to 205/4. Matthew Wade’s departure in the eighth over of Australia’s reply left George Bailey’s team at a forlorn 43 for 6, their campaign collapsing in a few fevered minutes. Bailey was left to offer his team’s last gesture of defiance, a breathless 63 from 29 balls, but it served only to narrow the margin as the team was bowled out for 131 in 16.4 overs. West Indies went onto lift the cup by defeating the hosts in the final. 4. South Africa – 208/2 v West Indies: Herschelle Gibbs. (Photo Source: Getty Images) The first ever World T20 match on 11 September 2007 was a spectacular event and produced a high-scoring thriller as described earlier. The West Indies must have fancied their chances after scoring 205/6 however the home side proved too strong in the run-chase. Herschelle Gibbs’ unbeaten 90 included 14 fours and 2 sixes while Justin Kemp’s 46 not out off 22 balls was filled with 5 fours and 2 sixes. South Africa’s refusal to succumb was best illustrated by the courage of their captain, Graeme Smith. After being struck a sickening blow on the right wrist off the first ball of a superb opening over from Daren Powell, Smith carried on with typical bullishness, muscling the ball over the leg side and through cover using his bottom hand. By the time he thumped one straight to cover and departed to the hospital for X-rays, he had 28 from 21, and South Africa the ideal platform on which to build. 3. South Africa – 211/5 v West Indies: South African batsman AB de Villiers. (Photo by ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty Images) South Africa produced an ominously clinical performance to send Scotland packing in the 2009 edition on 7th June at The Oval. The Proteas won by 130 runs after AB de Villiers cracked a classy and authoritative 79 from just 34 in South Africa’s 211/5. Dale Steyn and Johan Botha tore through Scotland who were rolled for 81. South Africa asserted themselves from the outset to lay bare Scotland’s technical flaws, not to mention their lack of experience. Chasing a daunting 212, Scotland were reduced to a hopeless 50 for 6 at the halfway point. Only Kyle Coetzer’s 31-ball 42 crowned an impressive personal display from the Scott. 2. India – 218/4 v England: Yuvraj Singh. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Yuvraj Singh’s brutal onslaught overwhelmed England in the match at Durban in 2007. Yuvi did a Garry Sobers on his way to an astonishing 12-ball half-century as India’s batsmen hammered the English bowling at Kingsmead. India finished with 218 for 4, with Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir also making fifties, but everything that went before was eclipsed by the penultimate over in which Yuvraj came out swinging against a hapless Stuart Broad. There had been an altercation of sorts with Andrew Flintoff at the end of the previous over, and Yuvraj took out his ire by smashing 6 sixes off 6 balls! India went onto lift the cup by beating Pakistan in a dramatic final in Johannesburg. 1. Sri Lanka – 260/6 v Kenya: Sri Lanka. (Photo Source: Associated Press) 14th September 2007 witnessed a minnow bashing at its best as Sri Lanka, led by Sanath Jayasuriya, pulverized Kenya, beating them by 172 runs at the Wanderers. Jayasuriya’s whirlwind 88 and Jehan Mubarak’s unbeaten 46 off 13 balls lifted Sri Lanka to a record team score of 260 for 6, a target way out of reach for the opposition as Kenya managed just 88. Records tumbled as the victory margin of 172 set the record for the biggest ever in Twenty20 internationals. Mubarak and Mahela Jayawardene – who made 65 – came within striking distance of recording the fastest fifties and the score of 260 foretold the result of the match even before the Kenya openers took guard. (All stats updated till 10th March 2016) Also read: Top 10 Highest wicket takers in World T20s