India's 3 highest T20I scores
India have the highest percentage of wins out of any country in the world (excluding Afghanistan), having won 62.5% of their games. They also won the first International T20 (T20I) tournament ever held, in 2007.
Here is a look at their best T20I totals thus far:
19 September 2007: India 218/4 (20 overs): Sehwag 68, Yuvraj 58, England 200/6 (20 overs): Solanki 43, Pietersen 39.
India win by 18 runs
As an Englishman, this is a game I have tried to forget. For Stuart Broad, memories of this game must seep in under his door late at night when he's searching for form. The looming shadow of Yuvraj Singh's bat on the wall next to his bed. A nightmare for the English bowler, repeating itself six times in the space of one over.
On that hot and sticky evening during the group game of the 2007 T20 World Cup, England faced an Indian side with too many match-winners to cope with. India posted an imposing 218/4 off their 20 overs. This was the first T20 World Cup, and in the early days of the format, making the total even more impressive.
India started with a bang and built a fantastic foundation, for Yuvraj to capitalise on later. The opening partnership raced to 136 off just 14 overs, with Sehwag slashing the England bowlers around the ground in South Africa. The pair made England’s fielders fetch the ball from the crowd 15 times in a brutal and assured opening stand. England threatened, however, to get back into the game and restrict India to a reasonable target.
When Uthappa’s wickets were dismantled by Tremlett, England celebrated. However, this brought an out-of-form Yuvraj to the crease, keen to prove a point. England’s paceman Andrew Flintoff spotted that Yuvraj could be a danger man, and tried put the batsman off his game by exchanging heated words in between overs. A decision he would regret. Spurred on by the taunts, Yuvraj faced up to a young Stuart Broad, whose blonde hair bounced as he ran in towards the wicket.
Six times, he swung his club, and six times the ball sailed over the ropes on the full. This wasn't slogging, these were proper cricket shots being launched into the atmosphere. In his 16-ball stay at the crease, Yuvraj pummelled 58 runs at a staggering strike-rate of 363. India’s total set an already knocked-out England a run rate of nearly 11 to win the game. The English put in a valiant effort, but India were simply too good, taking the match by 18 runs.
In one over, Yuvraj struck 36 runs off England's young seamer, taking the game away from England and setting up India's highest T20 total at the time. India went on to win the 2007 T20 World Cup, beating Pakistan by 5 runs in the final.