Punjab Kings all-rounder scores record-breaking 133 in 43 balls as team posts highest-ever total in T20 match

New Delhi: In a historic milestone for T20 International cricket, the Zimbabwe cricket team has set a new world record for the highest score in a single match. The team, led by Sikandar Raza, scored a staggering 344 runs in just 20 overs against Gambia, surpassing the previous record held by Nepal who scored 314 runs against Mongolia. This record-breaking achievement comes just 11 days after Team India came close to breaking the record with a score of 297 runs. It is worth noting that this record has not been achieved by traditional cricket powerhouses like India, Australia, or England, making Zimbabwe's feat all the more impressive.

THE HIGHEST TOTAL IN MEN’S T20Is

Sikandar Raza’s 33-ball century against Gambia in the T20 World Cup Africa Sub Regional Qualifiers takes Zimbabwe past Nepal’s record of 314-3! pic.twitter.com/5cSGxxbZJ8

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) October 23, 2024

These days, the qualifiers of the African sub-region of the Men’s T20 World Cup are being played in Kenya’s capital Nairobi. In this qualifier tournament, Zimbabwe and Gambia faced each other on Wednesday, October 23. Now it was already almost certain that an inexperienced team like Gambia would not be able to stand against Zimbabwe and Zimbabwe would win easily, but what happened on the field was not expected at all.

Record broken by Sikandar Raza’s century:

Zimbabwe batted first in this match and its batter made full use of this easy opportunity to score runs. Only Dion Myers failed this time but all the other batters scored a lot of runs. Openers Brian Bennett and T Marumani together scored 98 runs in 5.4 overs. Marumani was out after scoring 62 runs in just 19 balls. Bennett also scored 50 runs in 26 balls but the real show was stolen by captain Sikandar Raza. Zimbabwe’s most experienced and legendary all-rounder with his batting smashed fours and sixes and defeated the Gambia bowlers.

Sikandar completed his century in just 33 balls, which is a new record for the fastest century among ICC full member teams in T20 International. He broke the record of former Indian captain Rohit Sharma and South Africa’s David Miller. Both had scored centuries in 35 balls. Raza, along with Clive Madande, made a partnership of 141 runs in 40 balls and took the team to a world record score of 344 runs in 20 overs. In this way, he broke the world record of 314 runs made by Nepal in the Asian Games last year. At the same time, this record among full member countries was in the name of Team India, which had scored 297 runs against Bangladesh.

New record of most sixes:

Zimbabwe’s batters hit a lot of sixes in this inning. Captain Sikandar Raza hit the most 15 sixes. Apart from this, 7 fours also came from his bat. Madande, who scored 55 runs in 17 balls, also hit 5 sixes, while Marumani hit 4 sixes. In total, Zimbabwe hit 27 sixes in the innings, breaking Nepal’s world record (26).