Top five historic moments as T20I cricket celebrates its 1000th match
There is a reason why the opening match of the three-match series between India and Bangladesh on Sunday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi is special. It will be the 1000th international match in the shortest format of the game. And while the two sides engage in one of the most lopsided cricketing rivalries in the format, we take a look at the top five moments from T20I cricket.
1) Do you remember the first-ever match?
Today, the format is the most played across the globe, having already completed six World Cups. But when the inaugural match was played between New Zealand and Australia back in February 2005, the match was more of a gimmick-filled spectacle. Both the team had arrived in Auckland's Eden Park in vintage uniform. New Zealand donned 80's-style floppy hats, sweet bands and aviator sunglasses.
Australia amassed 214 runs for the loss of five wickets with skipper Ricky Ponting scoring an unbeaten 98. MS Kasprowicz's four-fer helped Australia restrict the home team to 170. Scott Styris was the top scorer for New Zealand with 66 runs. The highlight of the inaugural clash was however Glenn McGrath's rendition of Trevor Chappell's famous under-arm delivery. With 46 required of two balls, McGrath pretended to bowl an under-arm delivery to which umpire Billy Bowden gave an imaginary send-off.
2) India winning inaugural T20 World Cup
Ask any avid Indian cricket follower about World T20 2007 and most will describe Misbah-ul-Haq's infamous paddle-scoop over fine-leg. Sreesanth's 21-run over had given Pakistan the golden opportunity to defeat India. However, Pakistan reached the final over with 13 required. A wide ball, a dot and a six off a full-toss delivery from Joginder Sharma kept Pakistan six runs away from glory. Eventually, it was a needless paddle-scoop from Misbah that left Pakistan unfortunate as Sreesanth comfortably took the catch at short fine-leg to hand India their maiden World T20 cup.
3) Yuvraj Singh’s six 6s
The drama had started in the 18th over when Yuvraj had an altercation with Andrew Flintoff after smashing the English all-rounder for two boundaries. The verbal exchange had got Yuvraj pumped up and he exhaled the frustration on Stuart Broad in the 19th over as he hit six maximums off consecutive deliveries. And with that power hitting, Yuvraj notched up his half-century in just 12 balls.
4) England win their first World Cup title
After finishing second in the table with no victories, England qualified for the Super eight on the virtue of net run rate. However, they bounced back strong to bag three straight wins in the next round, before defeating Sri Lanka in the semis. In the summit clash, against Australia in Bridgetown, Craig Kieswetter (63 runs) and Kevin Pietersen (47 runs) combined to put up a 111-run stand as England went past Australia's total of 147/6 with 18 balls to spare. It was the first ICC event won by England.
5) "Carlos Brathwaite! Remember the name!"
If Ravi Shastri's commentary is synonymous with MS Dhoni's match-winning six in ICC World Cup 2011, Ian Bishop's commentary is with Brathwaite's final six in World T20 2016 summit clash. Against England's 155/9, Marlon Samuels had single-handedly kept West Indies in the contest with his unbeaten 85 -- the highest individual score in World T20 final. Yet, it was Brathwaite's blitzkrieg that remains the highlight of West Indies' four-wicket win. With 19 required off the final over, Brathwaite hit four straight sixes against Ben Stokes to help Windies reach the target with two balls to spare.
