3 T20 World Cup records that can never be broken

From ICC T20 World Cup, 2024, we are witnessing some of the most thrilling displays of cricket, with some awe-inspiring performances and record feats arguably leaving fans stunned. As this tournament progressed, moments were witnessed in the domain of cricket history for generations to come. One such moment that really stood out at a time when even a record was an unbreakable one was the New Zealand vs. Papua New Guinea match, in which Lockie Ferguson gave the most exceptional bowling performance seen.

As the semifinals come closer, with India playing England in the second semifinal and the final much expected because South Africa has sealed a spot in the final after the coercive victory over Afghanistan, things can get very exciting. This blog will refresh your memory regarding some T20 World Cup records from when this prestigious tournament first took place back in 2007, and these seem unlikely to ever be broken.

T20 World Cup records that will never be broken

The Historic Bowl-Out in India vs Pakistan (2007)

One of the three T20 World Cup records that will never be broken takes us back to the day of the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 when India and Pakistan faced off in a group-D thriller. Just that both teams posted the same total of 141 and shares with a tie. Breaking this deadlock, it went into a bowl-out—a tie-breaker method reminiscent of a penalty shootout in football.

Five members from each team bowl turn at an unprotected wicket, hitting the stumps as many times as possible. The team with the most hits wins the match. Here, all five bowlers of the hosts—Sreesanth, Harbhajan Singh, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan, and Robin Uthappa hit the stumps, thereby clinching this historic bowl-out. In contrast, none of the Pakistani bowlers—Umar Gul, Sohail Tanvir, Yasir Arafat, Shahid Afridi, and Mohammad Asif—was able to do so.

The bowl-out was an out-of-box and unconventional method to decide a corresponding match, and it worked both as a thrill and a scorch. ICC decided to make the Super Over the priority in resolving tied matches in T20 cricket, as happened after the 2007 World Cup. Basically, this rule change implies that the countless bowls between India and Pakistan are a record looking in the annals of T20 World Cup history in times to come—one that shall never be repeated.

Yuvraj Singh’s Six Sixes in an Over, 2007

Yuvraj Singh hitting six sixes in an over is one of the most adamant moments witnessed in the history of T20 cricket. This extraordinary feat happened during the Super Eight game between India and England in the ICC T20 World Cup 2007, at Kingsmead Stadium in Durban, South Africa. India had to win this game to keep themselves in contention following a jittery start to their campaign in the Super Eights.

The ball swung into the 19th over of the Indian innings, as Yuvraj Singh was introduced to England’s fast bowler Stuart Broad. What followed was an extraordinary exhibition of power hitting as Yuvraj Singh sent the ball soaring over the ropes six times in succession. Not only did it set the momentum in terms of a very strong target of 218 runs for India, but it also thrust Yuvraj Singh overnight into superstardom.

While Yuvraj’s 20-ball 58, studded with 7 sixes and 3 fours, saw India through without any hassle, it was also his feat of hitting six sixes in an over that will forever be etched on T20 folklore. Despite the evolution of the game with the introduction of new power hitters, replicating this under the pressure of a World Cup match seems almost impossible, hence a record that is very likely to stand the test of time.

3. Lockie Ferguson’s Four Consecutive Maidens (2024)

The 2024 T20 World Cup brought us yet another record that seems never to be broken for years. In a group stage match against Papua New Guinea at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad and Tobago, an extraordinary spell of bowling was made by New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson.

After being introduced to the attack in the fifth over of Papua New Guinea’s innings, Ferguson bowled four successive maiden overs, conceding no runs at all, and more importantly pulling down three batsmen through his passions during this period, which significantly contributed to restricting Papua New Guinea to a poor total of 78 runs in 19.4 overs.

Though Ferguson became only the second in T20I history, he outdid Canada’s Saad Bin Zafar, who had performed a similar act of prowess in a T20 World Cup Qualifier match back in 2021 but bagged two scalps. The performance brimmed with accuracy and skill; Ferguson showcased an amazing feat of fast bowling. This record is unlikely to be rolled out by any other bowler simply due to the difficulty of bowling four consecutive maidens in the runaway T20 cricket format.

The Bottom Line

The T20 World Cup has given a lot of memorable moments and records that have epitomized the history of the game. As we head further into the 2024 tournament with many more thrills, so is it apt to turn a little retrospect to some of the records that have stood really well with the test of time: the bowl-out between India and Pakistan in 2007, Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes in an over, and Lockie Ferguson’s four consecutive maidens are records that underline the nature of T20 cricket—unpredictable and thrilling. These are feats that have been left in the annals of cricket history and may remain so, eloquent testimony to the extraordinary merit of the players who put them up.