4 Lesser-known records held by Indian players and teams in Twenty20 cricket

The Indian Premier League (IPL) did certainly brought a revolution to the Twenty20 format as many other countries followed India’s footsteps to set up their own T20 leagues. The overseas players are often seen dominating some major records in the league. However, there are some lesser-known records which the Indian players and the teams from India do hold when it comes to the Twenty20 format. The IPL, Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament and the T20Is have seen the players and teams from India hold a variety of record in the T20 format.

Here we look at four lesser-known records held by Indian cricketers and teams in the Twenty20 format:

4. Most runs at a single venue

Virat Kohli might not have led the IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore to a title will but has a special connection with its home ground the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. Kohli is the only player to have featured for the same team in all the 12 editions of the tournament till date. As a result, he got a chance to play quite a lot in Bangalore and boost his batting record. The Chinnaswamy Stadium is known for producing batting tracks and the short boundaries boost the chances of big scores.

Till date, Kohli featured in 89 T20 matches at this venue scoring 2762 runs at an average of 36.82. He smashed three centuries and 19 fifties across the 86 innings at a solid strike rate of 140.06. He was the first-ever player to amass 2000 T20 runs a single venue and his 2762 runs help him to hold the record for most T20 runs at a single venue.

Mushfiqur Rahim is the only other player to have scored 2000 T20 runs at a ground as he aggregated 2048 runs at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium across 86 Twenty20s.

3. Consecutive matches for a team

The first thing one reminds of Suresh Raina in Chennai Super Kings is him appearing in all the matches played by the IPL franchise. Raina featured in all matches of the CSK across the IPL and CLT20 until they were banned for two years (2016 and 2017). The CSK made a comeback in the 2018 edition where Raina played first two matches but missed the 3rd match against KXIP in Mohali due to a calf injury. That was the 159th match played by the Super Kings in the T20 format.

This meant Suresh Raina represented CSK in each of their first 158 T20 matches which includes 134 IPL games. No player other than Raina till date have not played even 150 consecutive T20 matches for a team at any stage of their career. The 2nd longest such streak is held by Steven Croft who played 148 matches between 2007 and 2018 for Lancashire. Croft made his debut in the 2007 T20 Cup for the Lancashire and featured in 148 consecutive matches played by them until 2018.

Even the record for most consecutive matches as captain of a team in T20 cricket is held by an Indian – Gautam Gambhir. The former Indian skipper led Kolkata Knight Riders in 107 consecutive T20 matches. Gambhir missed a match for KKR during his maiden year in the Kolkata franchise. He played all 107 matches across IPL and CLT20 played by KKR since then. His streak finally came to an end when KKR decided not to retain their skipper who fetched them two titles.

2. Most dismissals by a keeper in a series

Rishabh Pant has been on the receiving end of the unfair criticism from a section of India fans and also from many senior experts of the sport for his skill and performances as a wicketkeeper. The young keeper’s Test career began in England where India conceded a record number of byes. In the absence of MS Dhoni in various matches in the last two years kept high hopes of Pant who couldn’t match the great man. This gave an opportunity for people to consistently raise their voice over the youngster.

When all eyes were on Rishabh Pant in the 2019 IPL, the keeper-batsman from Delhi created a record through his role of a wicketkeeper. Pant recorded a total of 24 dismissals during the tournament all across 16 matches only. No player other than Rishabh has managed to even claim 20 dismissals in a series/tournament in the Twenty20 format. Kumar Sangakkara (IPL 2011), Nurul Hasan (BPL 2019) and Quinton de Kock (IPL 2019) are placed 2nd in this list with 19 dismissals apiece.

Rishabh Pant affected six stumpings and claimed 18 catches behind the stumps. His 18 catches are also the joint-most for any wicketkeeper in a T20 tournament/series. All the 18 dismissals of Naman Ojha in the 2016 IPL were via catches only. Even in the 2018 IPL, Rishabh Pant created a T20 record where the left-hander smashed 684 runs in 14 innings. These are the most runs scored by a wicketkeeper in a single tournament in the T20 format.

1. Most consecutive matches without a win

Jammu and Kashmir had tough times going in the Twenty20 cricket in early stages as their first win of the format in the 7th match. They lost all the five games during the inaugural T20 domestic competition in India and tasted success in 2009-10 season. They defeated Services by 9 wickets while chasing 128 during the 2nd match of the tournament. However, the Jammu team took another 8 years for registering their second win in the T20 format.

They defeated Punjab during the 2016-17 Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy by 26 runs and followed it with victories over Himachal Pradesh and Haryana by 18 and 4 runs respectively. Between the wins against Services and Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir spent as many as 36 matches across eight editions of the SMA T20 tournament. They ended on the losing side in 35 out of those 36 T20s and managed to Tie a match against Punjab during the 2013-14 season. Punjab won the Super Over while chasing a target of 13.

The Jammu and Kashmir team broke the record for most consecutive T20s without a win which was then held by Quetta Bears who went 28 consecutive matches between 2005 and 2012 without winning even one. However, the Quetta Bears hold the upper hand in the list of most consecutive defeats in the T20 format. Quetta lost 27 consecutive matches during the winless streak of 28 T20s while Jammu & Kashmir lost 22 in a row during their 36-match streak without a win in this format.