A Twenty20 International (T20I) is a form of cricket, played between two of the international members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), in which each team faces a maximum of twenty overs. The matches have top-class status and are the highest T20 standard. The game is played under the rules of Twenty20 cricket.[1][2] The first Twenty20 International match between two men's sides was played on 17 February 2005, involving Australia and New Zealand. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack reported that "neither side took the game especially seriously",[3] and it was noted by ESPNcricinfo that but for a large score for Ricky Ponting, "the concept would have shuddered".[4] However, Ponting himself said "if it does become an international game then I'm sure the novelty won't be there all the time".[5]
This is a list of South Africa Cricket team's Twenty20 International records. It is based on the List of Twenty20 International records, but concentrates solely on records dealing with the South African cricket team. South Africa played their first ever T20I in 2005.
The top five records are listed for each category, except for the team wins, losses, draws and ties, all round records and the partnership records. Tied records for fifth place are also included. Explanations of the general symbols and cricketing terms used in the list are given below. Specific details are provided in each category where appropriate. All records include matches played for South Africa only, and are correct as of August 2020[update].
Key
Symbol
Meaning
†
Player or umpire is currently active in T20I cricket
As of August 2023[update], South Africa has played 169 T20I matches resulting in 95 victories, 70 defeats, 1 tie, and 3 no result for an overall winning percentage of 56.21 .[6]
A T20I match is won when one side has scored more runs than the runs scored by the opposing side during their innings. If both sides have completed both their allocated innings and the side that fielded last has the higher aggregate of runs, it is known as a win by runs. This indicates the number of runs that they had scored more than the opposing side. If the side batting last wins the match, it is known as a win by wickets, indicating the number of wickets that were still to fall.[23]
The greatest winning margin by runs in T20Is was Czech Republic's victory over Turkey by 257 runs in the sixth match of the 2019 Continental Cup.[11] The largest victory recorded by South Africa was during the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 by 130 runs against Scotland.[24]
The greatest winning margin by balls remaining in T20Is was Austria's victory over Turkey by 104 balls remaining in the ninth match of the 2019 Continental Cup.[26] The largest victory recorded by South Africa is during the Pakistan's tour in 2007 when they won by 10 wickets with 51 balls remaining.[27]
A total of 22 matches have ended with chasing team winning by 10 wickets with South Africa winning by such margins a record three times.[28] South Africa have won a T20I match by this margin on two occasions.[25]
South Africa holds the record for the highest successful run chase which they achieved when they scored 259/4 in response to the West Indies' 258/5.[29][30]
The narrowest winning margin by balls remaining in T20Is is by winning of the last ball which has been achieved 26 times. South Africa has achieve victory of the last ball once.[33]
The narrowest margin of victory by wickets is 1 wicket which has settled four such T20Is. The narrowest victory by wickets for South Africa is three wickets on four occasions.[34]
A tie can occur when the scores of both teams are equal at the conclusion of play, provided that the side batting last has completed their innings.[23]
There have been 19 ties in T20Is history with South Africa involved in one such game. (In this case, a Super Over was used as a tie-breaker and South Africa won.)[6]
India's Rohit Sharma has scored the most runs in T20Is with 3,737. Second is Virat Kohli of India with 3,712 ahead of Martin Guptill from New Zealand in third with 3,497. Quinton de Kock is the leading South African batsmen on this list.[37]
A half-century is a score of between 50 and 99 runs. Statistically, once a batsman's score reaches 100, it is no longer considered a half-century but a century.
Virat Kohli of India has scored the most half-centuries in T20Is with 24. He is followed by India's Rohit Sharma on 21, Ireland's Paul Stirling on 18 and Australia's David Warner on 17. Duminy has the most half-centuries for South Africa[78]
Ravija Sandaruwan of Kuwait holds the record for highest strike rate, with minimum 250 balls faced qualification, with 165.80.[84]Aiden Markram is the South African with the highest strike rate.
Paul Stirling of Ireland holds the record for most runs scored in a calendar year with 748 runs scored in 2019. Graeme Smith scored 316 runs in 2010, the most for a South Africa batsmen in a year.[88]
A duck refers to a batsman being dismissed without scoring a run.[92]Tillakaratne Dilshan of Sri Lanka, Pakistan's Umar Akmal and Ireland's Kevin O'Brien has scored the equal highest number of ducks in T20Is with 10 such knocks. JP Duminy with 6 ducks has the highest number of such knocks for South Africa.[93]
Shakib Al Hasan, former captain of Bangladesh, is the highest wicket-taker in T20Is. Dale Steyn is the highest ranked South African bowler on the all-time.[95]
Bowling figures refers to the number of the wickets a bowler has taken and the number of runs conceded.[112]
India's Deepak Chahar holds the world record for best figures in an innings when he took 6/7 against Bangladesh in November 2019 at Nagpur. Ryan McLaren holds the South African record for best bowling figures.[113]
A bowler's bowling average is the total number of runs they have conceded divided by the number of wickets they have taken.
Afghanistan's Rashid Khan holds the record for the best career average in T20Is with 12.62. Ajantha Mendis, Sri Lankan cricketer, is second behind Rashid with an overall career average of 14.42 runs per wicket. Imran Tahir with an average of 14.08 is the highest-ranked South African bowler.[115]
A bowler's economy rate is the total number of runs they have conceded divided by the number of overs they have bowled.[92]
New Zealand's Daniel Vettori, holds the T20I record for the best career economy rate with 5.70. Johan Botha, with a rate of 6.38 runs per over conceded over his T20I career, is the highest South African on the list.[117]
A bowler's strike rate is the total number of balls they have bowled divided by the number of wickets they have taken.[92]
With the best T20I career strike rate, the top bowler is Rashid Khan of Afghanistan with 12.3 balls per wicket strike rate. Imran Tahir is the South African bowler with the lowest strike rate.[119]
Pakistan's Umar Gul has taken the most four-wickets (or over) among all the bowlers. Imran Tahir has taken the most such hauls among South African bowlers.[121]
Kasun Rajitha also holds the dubious distinction of most runs conceded in a T20I during the aforementioned match. Kyle Abbott with figures of 1/68 off his four overs against West Indies in January 2015 holds the most runs conceded distinction for South Africa.[130]
Australia's Andrew Tye holds the record for most wickets taken in a year when he took 31 wickets in 2018 in 19 T20Is. Tabraiz Shamsi has so far taken 24 wickets in 2021, the most among South African bowlers.[132]
In cricket, a hat-trick occurs when a bowler takes three wickets with consecutive deliveries. The deliveries may be interrupted by an over bowled by another bowler from the other end of the pitch or the other team's innings, but must be three consecutive deliveries by the individual bowler in the same match. Only wickets attributed to the bowler count towards a hat-trick; run outs do not count.
In T20Is history there have been just 13 hat-tricks, the first achieved by Brett Lee for Australia against Bangladesh in 2007 ICC World Twenty20.[136]
The wicket-keeper is a specialist fielder who stands behind the stumps being guarded by the batsman on strike and is the only member of the fielding side allowed to wear gloves and leg pads.[138]
A wicket-keeper can be credited with the dismissal of a batsman in two ways, caught or stumped. A fair catch is taken when the ball is caught fully within the field of play without it bouncing after the ball has touched the striker's bat or glove holding the bat,[139][140] Laws 5.6.2.2 and 5.6.2.3 state that the hand or the glove holding the bat shall be regarded as the ball striking or touching the bat while a stumping occurs when the wicket-keeper puts down the wicket while the batsman is out of his ground and not attempting a run.[141]Quinton de Kock is the highest ranked South African wicket keeper in the all-time list of taking most dismissals in T20Is as a designated wicket-keeper, which is headed by India's MS Dhoni and West Indian Denesh Ramdin.[142]
Quinton de Kock has taken the most catches in T20Is as a designated wicket-keeper among South Africans with Dhoni and Ramdin leading the all-time list.[144]
Quinton de Kock has made the most stumpings in T20Is as a designated wicket-keeper among South African wicket-keepers with Dhoni and Kamran Akmal of Pakistan heading this all-time list.[146]
Four wicket-keepers on four occasions have taken five dismissals in a single innings in a T20I.[148]
The feat of taking 4 dismissals in an innings has been achieved by 19 wicket-keepers on 26 occasions with Gilchrist being the only Australian wicket-keeper.[149]
Netherlands wicket-keeper Scott Edwards holds the T20Is record for the most dismissals taken by a wicket-keeper in a series. He made 13 dismissals during the 2019 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier. South African record is held by Gilchrist when he made 9 dismissals during the 2007 ICC World Twenty20.[151]
Caught is one of the nine methods a batsman can be dismissed in cricket.[a] The majority of catches are caught in the slips, located behind the batsman, next to the wicket-keeper, on the off side of the field. Most slip fielders are top order batsmen.[154][155]
South Africa's David Miller holds the record for the most catches in T20Is by a non-wicket-keeper with 62, followed by Shoaib Malik of Pakistan on 50 and New Zealand's Martin Guptill with 47.[156]
The feat of taking 4 catches in an innings has been achieved by 14 fielders on 14 occasions with David Miller being the only South African fielder.[158][159]
India's Rohit Sharma holds the record for the most T20I matches played with 159, followed by Paul Stirling with 145 and George Dockrell of Ireland with 139 games. David Miller is the most experienced South African player having represented the team on 122 occasions.[164]
Afghanistan's Mohammad Shahzad and Asghar Afghan hold the record for the most consecutive T20I matches played with 58. Duminy holds the South African record.[166]
MS Dhoni, who led the Indian cricket team from 2007 to 2016, holds the record for the most matches played as captain in T20Is with 72. Faf du PLessis has led South Africa in 37 matches, the most for any player from his country.[167]
In cricket, two batsmen are always present at the crease batting together in a partnership. This partnership will continue until one of them is dismissed, retires or the innings comes to a close.
A wicket partnership describes the number of runs scored before each wicket falls. The first wicket partnership is between the opening batsmen and continues until the first wicket falls. The second wicket partnership then commences between the not out batsman and the number three batsman. This partnership continues until the second wicket falls. The third wicket partnership then commences between the not out batsman and the new batsman. This continues down to the tenth wicket partnership. When the tenth wicket has fallen, there is no batsman left to partner so the innings is closed.
An asterisk (*) signifies an unbroken partnership (i.e. neither of the batsmen was dismissed before either the end of the allotted overs or the required score being reached). Last updated: 21 June 2024[184]
An umpire in cricket is a person who officiates the match according to the Laws of Cricket. Two umpires adjudicate the match on the field, whilst a third umpire has access to video replays, and a fourth umpire looks after the match balls and other duties. The records below are only for on-field umpires.
Ahsan Raza of Pakistan holds the record for the most T20I matches umpired with 49. The most experienced Australian umpire is Rod Tucker with 35 matches officiated so far.[185]
Afghanistan
Australia
Bangladesh
England
India
Ireland
New Zealand
Pakistan
Sri Lanka
West Indies
Zimbabwe
Netherlands
Nepal
Scotland
United States
South Africa at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, 41st Match 2024 T20 World Cup, 19 June 2024[7]
Afghanistan
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah
