Twenty20 International

This page is about men's Twenty20 Internationals. For the women's version see Women's Twenty20 cricket

A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket which is played over 20 overs per side between two national cricket teams. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket. The first Twenty20 International took place on 17 February 2005 when Australia defeated New Zealand by 44 runs at Eden Park in Auckland. The International Cricket Council released inaugural rankings for the shortest format of the game on October 24, 2011 with England at top.

Twenty20 International teams

The nations are listed below with the date of each nation's Twenty20 International debut shown in brackets.

1. Australia (17 February 2005)
2. New Zealand (17 February 2005)
3. England (13 June 2005)
4. South Africa (21 October 2005)
5. West Indies (16 February 2006)
6. Sri Lanka (15 June 2006)
7. Pakistan (28 August 2006)
8. Bangladesh (28 November 2006)
9. Zimbabwe (28 November 2006)
10. India (1 December 2006)
11. Kenya (1 September 2007)
12. Scotland (12 September 2007)
13. Netherlands (2 August 2008)
14. Ireland (2 August 2008)
15. Canada (2 August 2008)
16. Bermuda (3 August 2008)
17. Afghanistan (2 February 2010)

ICC World Twenty20

The ICC World Twenty20 tournament is to be held every 2 years.

• South Africa 2007 ICC World Twenty20: Won by India, runner up Pakistan .

• England 2009 ICC World Twenty20: Won by Pakistan, runner up Sri Lanka .

• West Indies 2010 ICC World Twenty20: Won by England, runner up Australia .

ICC limitations on number of T20Is

In 2007 when the first ICC World Twenty20 was held in South Africa, it was set at three at home and four away in a year. At the moment, each member country is allowed to play six home and six away matches, and a maximum of three Twenty20 matches in a bilateral series. It means each of ten full ICC members can play a maximum of 12 Twenty20 Internationals in a calendar year. The motives are sound, and only New Zealand, against Pakistan between Christmas and New Year in 2010, have played three in a series.

Commonwealth Games

It has been suggested that T20 cricket be played in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010. The BCCI was originally reluctant to commit to playing the short form of the game and it never made to the final list of events for games.

Asian Games

In 2010, this form of cricket made its debut at the Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China. Both men and women teams competed. India chose not to send either team, citing international commitments. Bangladesh won the men's event while Pakistan won the women's event.

Twenty20 cricket in Olympics

Twenty20's push to be part of the 2020 Olympics when International Olympic Committee approved cricket as an Olympic sport in February 2010. Even Jacques Rogge, president of the International Olympic Committee, is keen to see cricket becoming an Olympic sport in the future.

List of Men's Twenty20 games

Main article: List of Twenty20 International games

T20I format touches 200

The 200th Twenty20 International match was played between India and West Indies in June 2011.The country that has hosted the most Twenty20 internationals is South Africa, with 44.

Statistics

Overall Results

Rank	Team	Matches	Points	Rating
1	England	11	1,435	130
=2	New Zealand	9	1,056	117
=2	Sri Lanka	9	1,056	117
4	South Africa	8	900	113
5	Australia	13	1,428	110
6	India	8	861	108
7	Pakistan	14	1,486	106
8	West Indies	8	711	89
9	Afghanistan	3	224	75
10	Zimbabwe	7	376	54
Reference: ICC Rankings 3 February 2012

Note: Only teams who have completed at least eight T20 international matches since 1 August between two and three years ago will have their rating above converted into a ranking on the main table.

Teams currently not on the table have played the following amount of qualification games - Bangladesh (5), Canada (4), Ireland (7), Kenya (4), Netherlands (4), Scotland (4).

The result percentage excludes 'No Results' and counts 'Ties' as half a win. Matches which were tied and decided by bowl-out are listed as tied.

Records

Main article: List of Twenty20 International records

• Highest team score: 260/6, by Sri Lanka against Kenya, 14 September 2007
• Highest win margin by runs: 172 runs, by Sri Lanka against Kenya, 14 September 2007
• Highest win margin by wickets: 10 wickets (58 balls remaining), by Australia against Sri Lanka, 20 September 2007
• Best bowling figures: 6 wickets for 18 runs, Ajantha Mendis, for Sri Lanka against Australia, 8 August 2011
• Highest individual score in an innings: 117, Chris Gayle, for West Indies against South Africa, 11 September 2007
• Highest partnership: 170, Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman for the first wicket, South Africa against England, 15 November 2009
• Fastest half-century by an individual: 12 balls, by Yuvraj Singh for India against England, 19 September 2007
• Fastest century by an individual: 45 balls, by Richard Levi for South africa against New Zealand, 19 February 2012
• Highest number of runs scored off an over: 36, by Yuvraj Singh for India against England, 19 September 2007
• Highest number of sixes hit in a team innings: 17, South Africa against England, 15 November 2009
• Highest number of sixes in an individual innings: 13, RE Levi, for South africa against New Zealand , 19 February 2012
• First hat-trick: Brett Lee, for Australia against Bangladesh, 16 September 2007
• Biggest six: 127 metres, Martin Guptill, for New Zealand against South Africa, 17 February 2012

External links

• NatWest International Twenty20