The excitement is in the air for cricket lovers as the T-20 World Cup has begun on a sombre note in Australia on October 13. In its eighth edition currently, the lower-rung teams are clashing with each other to qualify for the next level to clash with the “big daddies” of the game. Since the inaugural edition in 2007, the multi-nation tournament has offered thrills and chills in equal measures. Today let us get a grip on some interesting facts about the T-20 carnivals over the years.
The Only Team To Win Twice
West Indies might have long lost their tag of invincibility but they happen to be the most successful team in the T-20 World Cup. The Windies are the only ones to win the title twice, in 2012 and 2016. Unfortunately, they are placed seventh in the ICC T-20 men’s team ranking presently and striving hard to be eligible to lock horns with the top-ranked teams.
MSD’s Legacy Looms Large
Despite bidding adieu to international cricket in 2020, his records are still intact. The captain of the world cup-winning squad in the inaugural edition still holds the record for the most number of dismissals (32) as a wicketkeeper to his credit. It is highly unlikely that the record will be broken any time soon. Hence, despite walking into the sunset a few years back, the Jharkhand dasher remains relevant even now in world cricket.
One And Only To Score Two Centuries
When one talks about the T-20 format it is criminal to not talk about the “Universal Boss”, Chris Gayle. Though the 43-year-old is no longer in the scheme of things of the Windies team management, the flamboyant player remains the sole batter to have scored two centuries in the marquee events so far, one against South Africa in 2007 and the other against England in 2016. Additionally, Gayle also happens to be the only player with the maximum number of hits (63) over the fence across the editions.
Batter With Maximum Runs To His Credit In T-20 WCs
Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid have never featured in any of the editions as they felt the format belongs to the youth. So, it is only natural to assume either Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson or Steve Smith to rule the roost as a batter in the event. However, the veteran Sri Lankan player Mahela Jayawardene happens to be the highest run-getter in T-20 World Cup editions with 1016 runs to his credit.
Only One Bowl-Out So Far
This happens to be the 8th edition, and so far, only on one occasion, the Bowl-Out method had to be used to decide the winner. And the game happened to be the India-Pakistan group stage encounter in the inaugural edition. However, the Bowl-Out practice got replaced with the Super Over method, a one-over elimination method based on scoring maximum runs, to adjudicate the tied affairs from 2009 onwards.
