Hyderabad: February 17, 2005 will be a date that has been etched into cricket history as on this date the first-ever men's T20I was played. The match took place between Australia and New Zealand at Auckland.
The very first T20I game turned out be engrossing as Australia managed to score 214/5 in the allotted twenty overs and the hosts failed to chase down the score as they were bowled out for 170.
Australia skipper Ricky Ponting was adjudged the Man of the Match as he thrashed 98 runs from just 55 balls with eight fours and five 6s.
Since the day of its inception in the international arena, there was no looking back for T20 cricket and over the years, the shortest format of the game has become the crowd favourite.
WHY and WHEN?
Twenty20 was started in an effort to make cricket more exciting and accessible to those who were put off by the lengthy game in its original format.
The marketing manager of ECB, Stuart Robertson, was the first to propose a 20-over innings to the chairmen of the county in 2001 and it was the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) who originally introduced the T20 format for cricket in 2003 for an inter-county cricket competition in England and Wales.
The first official T20 matches were played between the English counties On June 13, 2003.
The first T20 International match took place on August 5, 2004, between the women's teams on England and New Zealand which the latter won by nine runs.
Take a look at the statistical journey of T20I cricket so far:
OVERALL RECORDS
TEAM RECORDS
HIGHEST INNINGS TOTAL:
Afghanistan 278/3 against Ireland in Dehradun in 2019.
HIGHEST INNINGS TOTAL BATTING SECOND:
Australia scored 245/5 in 18.5 overs to win the match against New Zealand in Auckland in 2018.
LOWEST INNINGS TOTAL:
Turkey 21/10 in 8.3 overs at Iflov County in 2019.
LARGEST MARGIN OF VICTORY (BY RUNS):