349/5! Baroda regers world record T20 team score in SMAT match against Sikkim | Cricket News

Baroda shattered a heap of records in the final round of the group stage of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy as they regered the highest-ever men’s T20 total during the clash against Sikkim in Indore on Thursday.
Baroda went past the 300-run mark in only 17.2 overs after being led No. 3 Bhanu Pania’s 42-ball hundred before finishing on 349/5 in 20 overs. Pania finished unbeaten on 134 off 51 deliveries on the back of five fours and 11 sixes.
Batting first in a must-win game in the absence of India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Baroda unleashed carnage from the get-go as openers Shashwat Rawat and Abhimanyusingh Rajput put up a 92-run stan in five overs before the latter lost his wicket after scoring a quickfire 53 off 17.
Baroda soon became the first Indian domestic team outside the IPL to record 100 runs within a T20 PowerPlay and the run-scoring rates only got quicker with each passing over.
Baroda innings progression
54/0 in 2.4 overs102/2 in 5.3 overs152/2 in 8.5 overs202/2 in 10.5 overs250/3 in 13.5 overs304/3 in 17.2 overs349/5 in 20 overs
At the end of 10 overs, Baroda had vaulted to a mammoth 180 with No. 3 Pania and Shivalik Sharma carrying on the onslaught after the openers. Baroda zoomed past 200 in only 10.3 overs, making it the fastest team 200 in T20 hory.
They went past the Indian team’s record score of 297/6 against Bangladesh from October in only overs and became only the third T20 side ever to record 300 in an innings. Interestingly, Baroda is the first domestic T20 team to achieve the landmark following Zimbabwe’s 344/4 vs Gambia this year and Nepal’s 314/3 against Mongolia in 2023.
Heading into the game, Baroda found themselves third in their group behind Saurashtra and Gujarat on Net Run Rate, while tied on 20 points. Only a hefty NRR boost could help Baroda secure a place in the knockouts should all three teams win their respective matches. Gujarat play Karnataka while Saurashtra take on Tripura later on Thursday.
Major records broken Baroda
349/5: Highest-ever men’s T20 total, surpassing Zimbabwe’s 344/4 v Gambia37: The most sixes in a T20 total, surpassing Zimbabwe’s 27 against Gambia294: The runs in boundaries (37 sixes and 18 fours), the most in a T20 team innings15: Bhanu Pania’s sixes are the joint-second most an Indian man in a T20 innings