The Baroda cricket team has broken Zimbabwe’s record for the highest team total in T20 cricket by posting an astonishing 349 runs for five wickets in the first innings of their match against Sikkim in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Zimbabwe earlier set a target of 344/4 on October 23, 2024, against Gambia in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup African sub-regional qualifiers.
Skipper Sikandar Raza scored an unbeaten 133 off 43 balls, including seven boundaries and 15 sixes, making him the third fastest centurion in the shortest format of the game.
The match saw Baroda’s aggressive batting line-up overcome the opposition in a sensational display of powerful batting.
Batting first, the top order caught fire, with Bhanu Pania taking center stage. Pania’s remarkable 134 unbeaten runs off just 51 balls included four boundaries and 15 jaw-dropping sixes.
Supporting Pania were Abhimanyu Singh, Shivalik Sharma and Vishnu Solanki, each contributing a cracking fifty.
Singh’s quickfire 53 off 17, Sharma’s 55 off 17 and Solanki’s 50 off 16 ensured that Baroda set a formidable target.
On the bowling side, Sikkim struggled to contain the Baroda attack.
Roshan Kumar was the pick of the bowlers for his team, but even his two wickets were not enough to avoid a heavy impact on the scoreboard. Kumar finished with figures of 2/81 runs in his four-over spell.
Leeyong Lepcha and Palzor Tamang also faced the brunt of Baroda’s firepower, conceding 55 and 45 runs respectively, with Tamang taking two wickets.
During the chase, Sikkim were restricted to 86/7 and lost the match by 263 runs. Robin Limboo was the top scorer with 20 runs off 20 deliveries while Ankur Malik remained unbeaten with 18 off 21 deliveries.
On the bowling side, Ninad Rathva and Mahesh Pithiya claimed two wickets each, while captain Krunal Pandya, Atit Sheth and Abhimanyusingh Rajput claimed one wicket each. Bhanu Pania was named the Man of the Match for his aggressive batting display.
Baroda not only scored the most runs in the shortest format but also hit the most sixes in a T20 innings with 37 sixes, surpassing Zimbabwe’s record of 27 sixes.
