Records broken in the first T20I between Sri Lanka and Australia
When Sri Lanka won the toss and sent Australia in to bat for the first time in the series, they couldn’t have possibly foreseen the carnage that was to unfold in the following few hours. Then again, when records are made, seldom are warning signs clearly provided.
And so it was that Australia, with a new-look opening partnership of David Warner and Glenn Maxwell (Aaron Finch was unavailable due to injury) and under the captaincy of Warner, the visitors set out to continue the winning momentum that they had established in the ODI series.
And they continued that as they beat Sri Lanka by 85 runs after posting 263/3 and restricting Sri Lanka to 178/9 to take a 1-0 lead in the T20I series. There were plenty of records that were broken in the game.
While the record for the highest score in T20s wasn’t one of them, here are some of the records that were broken in the first T20I at Pallekele:
Highest total by a team in T20Is
Barely two weeks ago, Sri Lanka were the proud owners of the record for the highest total in all three formats of cricket. But now, after conceding 263/3, not only did they relinquish their title in the T20I format but also ensured that the record for highest totals in Tests, ODIs and T20Is have come against three Asian powerhouses in India, Pakistan and now Sri Lanka.
On the back of Glenn Maxwell's unbeaten 145, Australia secured the record for highest T20I total, overtaking Sri Lanka’s record of 260/6 against Kenya in the 2007 World T20 in South Africa. Going into the final over of the innings needing 14 to take the world record, the visitors got there comfortably.
Two consecutive boundaries from Travis Head brought up the 100 partnership for the fourth wicket and a full toss on leg stump was despatched over long-on and just like Australia had the record. Unfortunately though, they could only equal the record for the highest T20 total as Head’s wicket off the last ball meant they were qual with RCB’s mark of 263.