India Play 300th T20I and Become First Team to Reach 200 Outright T20I Wins
India played their 300th men's T20I on Saturday, October 24, and marked it with a four-wicket win over New Zealand at Hagley Oval, Christchurch. The result also made them the first team to record 200 outright T20I wins, a figure that leaves out Super Over and bowl-out victories.
India are the second team to reach 300 T20Is, not the first. Pakistan crossed the mark earlier this month during the Asian Games and have now played 304. New Zealand are next on 269 matches. India's own win record is the more unusual part. They have 200 outright wins, along with five Super Over wins and one bowl-out win. They also won their 50th, 100th, 150th, 250th and 300th T20Is, though they lost the 200th.
The road to the landmark has got faster with time. India won their first T20I against South Africa in Johannesburg in December 2006. The first 100 wins took more than 15 years, while the next 100 arrived in under five. On September 22, India had already become the first side to reach 200 wins in the format when Super Over results are counted, after a two-run victory over Japan at Sano in their 291st match. The Christchurch win took the outright count to 200 as well.
The match itself was tight. New Zealand made 180/5, with Glenn Phillips top-scoring on 70 off 43 balls and Bevon Jacobs adding 58 off 46. India needed 110 off the last nine overs with five wickets in hand, and Tilak Varma finished the job with an unbeaten 51. India's top five contributed only 62 runs between them, so the batters at No. 6 and below supplied 108. It was the first fifty by an Indian batter at No. 6 or lower in a successful T20I chase. India's 111 runs scored after the fall of the fifth wicket is the most they have ever chased from that position.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0, after back-to-back four-wicket wins in Christchurch. The third T20I is in Wellington on October 27, followed by Auckland on October 30 and Hamilton on November 1. The tour then moves on to five ODIs from November 4 and two Tests in December.