Top 5 highest team scores in T20Is

1. England:

Two-time world champions England are fifth in this list. In 2023, they had scored a mammoth total of 267/3 in 20 overs against West Indies thanks to opener Phil Salt’s fine century. The right-handed batsman scored 119 runs, the highest score by an England batter in the shortest format of the game.

His knock came off 57 balls and was studded with 10 sixes. Captain Jos Buttler also played a crucial knock of 55 runs from 29 balls before Liam Livingstone ended the innings strongly for England by hitting an unbeaten 54 off just 21 balls. In reply, West Indies were bowled out for 192 runs inside 16 overs.

2. Malaysia:

At number four in this list is Malaysia. In 2023 Asian Games, they had piled up a mammoth total of 268/4 against Thailand and had gone on to win the game by 194 runs. Batting first, Malaysia were off to a fine start with opener Syed Aziz and Zubaidi Zulkifle adding 81 runs for the first wicket.

Zulkifle departed for 31 but Aziz made the most of the start and went on to score a fine century. He scored 126 runs from 56 balls with the help of 13 fours and 9 sixes. Muhammad Amir and Virandeep Singh then provided the finishing touches with quickfire knocks.

Amir smashed 55 runs from just 25 balls while Singh hit 30 runs off only 12 balls. In reply, Thailand never really looked in contention to chase down the total and eventually finished their innings on a modest 74/9.

3. Czech Republic:

Czech Republic are third in the list for scoring 278/4 in the allotted 20 overs against Turkey in 2019. Captain Edward Knowles won the toss and opted to bat first. Honey Gori and Sumit Pokhriyal gave Czech Republic a good start by adding 70 runs for the first wicket.

Gori departed for 32 before the likes of Shaun Dalton (0) and Hilal Ahmad (8) departed in quick succession to leave their team 3 down for 107. From thereon, Czech Republic remained on the front foot as Sudesh Wickramasekara launched a stunning assault on Turkey. He and Pokhriyal shared a 94-run stand for the fourth wicket before the latter departed for 79.

Wickramasekara, on the other hand, went on to score an unbeaten 104 runs from just 36 balls. Chasing 279, Turkey were bowled out for just 21 runs with as many as eight players registering ducks in the game.

4. Afghanistan:

At number two in this list are Afghanistan. In 2019, they had scored 278/3 against Ireland, the-then highest total in the shortest format of the game. Afghanistan broke the previous record set by Australia who had scored 263/3 against Sri Lanka in 2016.

The star of the show was opening batsman Hazratullah Zazai. The southpaw smashed an unbeaten 162 off just 62 balls with the help of 11 fours and 16 sixes. He also shared a record 236-run stand for the first wicket with Usman Ghani who scored 73 runs off 48 balls.

Chasing the huge total, Ireland finished their innings on 194/6 to lose the game by 84 runs. Captain Paul Stirling top-scored for his side by scoring 91 runs from 50 balls with the help of 12 fours and 2 sixes. He and Kevin O’Brien shared a 126-run stand for the first wicket but could not take their team close to a historic win.

5. Nepal:

The record for the highest-ever T20I total is held by Nepal. In 2023 Asian Games, they had posted a staggering total of 314/3 in the allotted 20 overs against Mongolia. In doing so, Nepal became the first country to cross the 280-run mark in a T20I innings before going on to become the first country to post a 300-plus total.

Kushal Malla laid the platform for the huge total by scoring the-then fastest T20I century, reaching the milestone in just 34 balls. Dipendra Singh Airee then went on to smash the fastest fifty, completing the half-century in only 9 deliveries. Malla scored an unbeaten 137 runs from 50 balls while Airee scored 52 not out off 10 balls.

Captain Rohit Paudel also scored 61 runs off just 27 balls. Nepal had a record 26 sixes during the innings. Chasing an improbable 315 runs for a historic win, Mongolia were all out for just 41 runs to suffer a 273-run loss. 

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