Baroda register highest team total in T20 history, post 349/5 vs Sikkim in SMAT

Indore, Dec 5 (IANS) Baroda registered the highest-ever men’s T20 total, scoring 349 for five in 20 overs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Sikkim at Emerald High School Ground on Thursday.

The previous record for the highest T20 score was held by Zimbabwe when it scored 344 runs against Gambia in October this year.

Baroda also became the first team to post a 300-plus score in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The previous highest team total in the tournament was made by Punjab with 275 runs they scored against Andhra Pradesh in the previous edition.

Baroda went past the 300-run mark in only 17.2 overs, riding on Bhanu Pania’s 42-ball hundred before finishing on 349/5 in 20 overs.

Pania finished unbeaten on 134 off 51 deliveries on the back of five fours and 11 sixes. Abhimanyu Singh (53 off 17), Shivalik Sharma (55 off 17) and Vishnu Solanki (50 off 16) also contributed to the total with respective half-centuries.

In the process of scoring a world record total, Baroda also became the first Indian domestic team outside the IPL to record 100 runs within a T20 Powerplay. They also smashed 37 sixes in the match to reach the landmark total.