5 lowest team totals in T20 matches

The shortest format of the game brings with itself a whole new world of unpredictabilities. Old records are broken and newer ones are created in a frenzy and cricketers exhibit a wide new range of skills, be it with the bat or with the ball. With the mushrooming of several T20 leagues across the globe, many cricketers have made T20 cricket their preferred format and have gone on to the extent of opting out or retiring from the international game in order to play in the leagues that reward them in a surplus manner.

Therefore, with so many cricketers playing T20 cricket these days, records are meant to be created and broken every now and then. However, the records in discussion here aren't only the ones where a batsman piles on truckloads of runs or a team breaks a world record for the highest total. Rather, the unpredictability of the format has often seen teams get bowled out for totals that are nowhere close to being acceptable by T20 standards.

Here, in this piece, we bring to you five of the lowest team totals in T20 cricket.

Note: This slideshow includes all T20s that have been played around the globe – both international, as well as, domestic.

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#5 Northamptonshire 47 all out vs Durham, 2011 and Titans 47 all out vs Eagles, 2004

Paul Collingwood’s 5/6 helped Durham bowl the Northants out for 47 runs

During England’s domestic T20 competition, the Friends Life T20 Cup, as it was known back in 2011, Northamptonshire, led by the former South Africa all-rounder Johan Botha, were bowled out for just 47 runs in reply to Durham’s first innings total of 144/7. Chasing a modest target of 145, the Northants batsmen couldn’t cope up with the medium-pace part-time bowling of the former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood, as the veteran picked up 5/6 in 3 overs to dismantle the Northants batting order.

Tied with the aforementioned total, was Titans’ total against Eagles in the Standard Bank ProT20 Series semi-final in 2004, wherein they were bowled out for 47 while batting first. None of the Titans batsmen could get to double figures and the top scorer in their innings was the captain Daryll Cullinan with 9 runs. Thandi Tshabalala and Cliffe Deacon picked up three wickets each for the Eagles, who, helped by a 41-run stand between Loots Bosman and Boeta Dippenaar, strode home with 7 wickets in hand.

#4 Mohammedan 45 all out vs Prime Bank, 2013

Shakib’s six-wicket-haul led the Prime Bank Cricket Club to a 159-run victory over Mohammedan Sporting

During the Victory Day T20 Cup, that used to be the premier club cricket competition of Bangladesh, the Mohammedan Sporting Club were bowled out for 45 runs in response to the Prime Bank Cricket Club’s mammoth total of 204/3 and lost the match by a massive margin of 159 runs. Batting first, Prime Bank rode on Anamul Haque’s 63-ball 105 and captain Shakib-Al-Hasan’s 28-ball 57 to post 204/3 in their 20 overs.

In reply, only two of Mohammedan’s batsmen could get to double figures, as Shakib wreaked havoc by picking up 6/18 in 2.4 overs to bowl the opposition out for 45 in just 8.5 overs. Raqibul Hasan and Shahriar Nafees were the top scores for Prime Bank with scores of 13 and 12 respectively.

#3 Assam 44 all out vs Delhi, 2016; Leeward Islands 44 all out vs Trinidad and Tobago, 2012; and Boland 44 all out vs North West, 2014

Sunil Narine picked up 4/9 to help Trinidad and Tobago beat the Leeward Islands by 167 runs

In a Group C game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, 2016 – India’s premier domestic T20 competition – between Assam and Delhi, Assam were bowled out for 44 in the first innings. Just two of Assam’s batsmen could reach double figures and they could occupy the crease for only 12.1 overs. Subodh Bhati and Shivam Sharma picked up 4 wickets and 3 wickets respectively for Delhi, and Unmukt Chand’s knock of 29 made sure that Delhi reached the target of 45 runs 9.1 overs with 8 wickets in hand.

During the Caribbean T20 competition in 2012, Leeward Islands were bowled out for 44 against Trinidad and Tobago in response to a mammoth first innings total of 211/3. A treble of quickfire half-centuries from Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath and Kieron Pollard meant that T&T posted 211 runs on the board in their designated 20 overs. The response, however, was meek from the Leeward Islands batsmen, as Sunil Narine’s 4/9 and Samuel Badree’s 3/18 forced their batsmen to surrender, and in the process, lose the game.

Tied with the aforementioned two scores is Boland’s total of 44 against North West during the CSA Provincial T20 Challenge, 2014. Batting first, North West scored 149/5 in their 20 overs with Marinus Lazenby top scoring with 60. In the second innings, Boland couldn’t get going at all as they lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out in just 14.4 overs for 44. Bjorn Fortuin picked up 4/8 in 3.4 overs Julian Soutter scalped 3/6 in 3 overs.

#2 Netherlands 39 all out vs Sri Lanka, 2014

Ajantha Mendis picked up three wickets to help Sri Lanka dismiss the Netherlands for 39

Sri Lanka bowled out the Netherlands for just 39 runs in a Group 1 game during the ICC World T20 2014, held in Bangladesh. Angelo Mathews and Ajantha Mendis picked up three wickets each, whereas Lasith Malinga picked up two, as the Dutch batsmen struggled to cope up with the pressure of the big tournament and were bowled for their lowest ever total in T20 internationals.

As many as 5 of the Netherlands batsmen got out for a duck, whereas the top scorer for them, Tom Cooper, managed just 16 runs. Sri Lanka hunted the target down in just 5 overs, with Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardena remaining not out on 12 and 11 respectively, and guided the side home. The only wickets that they lost was that of Kusal Perera, who made 14 runs.

#1 Tripura 30 all out vs Jharkhand, 2009

Saurabh Tiwary-led Jharkhand bowled Tripura out for a paltry score of 30 runs

Tripura were bowled out for 30 runs against Jharkhand in an East Zone game of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2009. None of Tripura’s batsmen could even get to double figures, as it took the Jharkhand bowlers just 11.1 overs to bowl them out. Mihir Diwakar picked up 6/5 in 3.1 overs to break the back of the Tripura batting lineup and set the stage for an easy victory for his side.

Jharkhand romped home in just 3.2 overs, by getting the requisite amount of runs (31) to win the game by 10 wickets. Saurabh Tiwary, the captain, finished unbeaten on 22 off just 14 balls while Rameez Nemat gave him company with a run-a-ball eight. Tripura’s Rana Dutta was taken for 22 runs in his two overs. VR Aaron, SP Gautam, IR Jaggi, Kuldeep Sharma, RK Nemat, Rajiv Kumar and TP Yadav from Jharkhand, and Swapan Das, KD Aphale, MB Murasingh, Rana Dutta and NS Shetty from Tripura made their T20 debuts in this game.