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Mahela Jayawardene (L) and Yuvraj Singh (R) (Source: AFP)
Since its inception in 2007, the T20 World Cup has emerged as one of the top ICC tournaments, alongside the ODI World Cup. Unlike the four-year gap in an ODI World Cup, the T20 WC is held every two years since its inaugural edition in 2007.
A total of nine T20 World Cup editions have been played across these 19 years. Meanwhile, many individual records have been set in this prestigious cricket biennial.
The players had started achieving records in the tournament’s first-ever edition only, be it Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes in an over or Brett Lee’s hat-trick against Bangladesh.
Apart from the individual heroics, there have also been the records that have been achieved by the participating teams in the tournament. That said, here’s a look at the five highest team totals in the entire T20 World Cup history. It has been one of the rare records achieved by only a few teams in the tournament since 2007.
5 Highest team totals in T20 World Cup history
Sri Lanka - 260/6 vs Kenya, T20 World Cup 2007
It was the T20 World Cup 2007’s eighth match, between Sri Lanka and Kenya, played at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on September 14, 2007. The then-Kenyan skipper Steve Tikolo won the toss and asked Sri Lanka to bat first. However, his decision proved wrong as the Sri Lankan batters proved him wrong.
The Islanders posted a massive total of 260 runs for the loss of six wickets in the allotted 20 overs. The blistering opener Sanath Jayasuriya smashed 88 runs off just 44 balls, with an outstanding strike rate of 200.00, hitting 11 fours and four sixes.
Following him, skipper Mahela Jayawardene (65 runs off just 27 balls) and middle-order batter Jehan Mubarak (46 runs off just 13 balls) helped the Islanders post a massive total of 260 runs for the loss of six wickets.
Jayawardene’s men won this game comfortably by a huge margin of 172 runs as they bundled out Kenya at the double-digit score of just 88 runs in 19.3 overs.
England - 230/8 (19.4 overs) vs South Africa, T20 World Cup 2016
South Africa and England faced off in the 18th match of the T20 World Cup 2016 in India. It happened to be one of the historical games in the entire history of the tournament, as it is still the game with the highest aggregates in terms of runs in the entire history of the T20 World Cup.
England were chasing the target of 230 runs and crossed the line in 19.4 overs, scoring 230 runs for the loss of eight wickets. The Englishmen won the game by a narrow margin of two wickets and registered the second-highest team total in the T20 World Cup history.
South Africa - 229/8 vs England, T20 World Cup 2016
It was the same game in which England achieved the second-highest team total in the tournament’s history. The then-England skipper Eoin Morgan won the toss and asked South Africa to bat first at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
Batting first, South Africa posted a big total of 229 runs for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, and Jean-Paul Duminy scored the brilliant half-centuries to help their side go past the total of 200+ runs in the first innings.
India - 218/5 vs England, T20 World Cup 2007
It was India vs England in the 21st game of the T20 World Cup 2007, which is immortal in the entire history of the tournament, owing to a rare individual excellence.
The former legendary Indian batting all-rounder Yuvraj Singh created history, as he smashed six sixes in an over off England’s Stuart Broad. On the back of his fastest T20I half-century, India posted the then-second-highest team total in the T20 World Cup history.
The Men in Blue ended up scoring 218 runs for the loss of four wickets in the first innings. They restricted the Three Lions to 200 runs for the loss of six wickets in the second innings to win the game by 18 runs. India’s record was later surpassed by South Africa and England in the T20 World Cup 2016.
West Indies - 218/5 vs Afghanistan, T20 World Cup 2024
West Indies and Afghanistan locked horns in the 40th game of the most recent T20 World Cup edition in 2024. The game was played at the Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in St Lucia. The Afghan skipper Rashid Khan won the toss and asked the hosts to bat first.
The Caribbean side posted a big total of 218 runs for the loss of five wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran played a swashbuckling knock of 98 runs off just 53 balls, with six fours and eight sixes. Besides him, Johnson Charles scored 43 runs off 27 runs, with eight fours.
Later in the second innings, West Indies bundled out Afghanistan at 114 runs and won the game by a huge margin of 104 runs. It is the joint-fifth fastest team total in the T20 World Cup history.
