5 Highest Totals For Team India In T20I Cricket

5 highest totals for Team India in T20I cricket [Source: @BCCI/x]5 highest totals for Team India in T20I cricket [Source: @BCCI/x]

The Indian cricket team has recorded some of the highest totals in T20I history, including the second-biggest total overall and the highest among all ICC Test playing nations. Boasting of some of the cleanest ball-strikers of the game, here we take a look at five of the biggest team totals registered by Team India in the truncated format.

5. India 237-3 vs South Africa, Guwahati 2022

In the second T20I of India’s three-match home series against South Africa in October 2022, the ‘Men in Blue’ charted 237-3 from 20 overs after being invited to bat first. Opener KL Rahul clobbered five boundaries and four sixes in his turbulent 28-ball 57 at the top, and he shared a 96-run opening partnership with captain Rohit Sharma.

Virat Kohli at number three belted an unbeaten 49 from 28 balls, while Suryakumar Yadav top-scored in the high-scoring innings with 61* off 22 deliveries. After entertaining Guwahati’s Barsapara crowd with the bat, Indian bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel held off David Miller and co. to secure a 16-run win for the hosts.

4. India 240-3 vs West Indies, Wankhede 2019

With a series on the line, hosts India and the visiting West Indies team crossed paths at the Wankhede Stadium in December 2019. Batting first, Indian openers Rohit Sharma (71 off 34) and KL Rahul (91 off 56) blasted blistering half-centuries in their 135-run stand in just 11.4 overs.

Following the dismissal of Sharma, then Indian captain Virat Kohli took centerstage by whacking an unbeaten 70 from just 29 balls with four boundaries and seven sixes. The total turned out to be a match-winning for the ‘Men in Blue’, as bowlers Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav helped them clinch the series by a 2-1 margin.

3. India 244-4 vs West Indies, Lauderhill 2016

India 244-4 vs West Indies, Lauderhill 2016 [Source: @ICC/x]India 244-4 vs West Indies, Lauderhill 2016 [Source: @ICC/x]

India amassed 244-4 from 20 overs, albeit in the run-chase, against West Indies in the first T20I of a two-match series back in August 2016 at Lauderhill. Chasing 246 for a win, Rohit Sharma smeared 62 runs from 28 balls and unbeaten number four KL Rahul blazed his way to 110* from just 51 balls. MS Dhoni also smacked a swift 25-ball 43 while batting at number five, but some tight bowling from Dwayne Bravo in the final over helped West Indies seal the match by a solitary run.

2. India 260-5 vs Sri Lanka, Indore 2017

Team India mounted 260-5 off 20 overs against Sri Lanka at Indore’s Holkar Stadium back in December 2017 in the second T20I of their three-match home series. Stand-in captain Rohit Sharma bashed 118 runs from just 43 balls to top-score in the innings, and brought up a 35-ball ton in the process. While the dashing Indian opener clubbed 12 boundaries and 10 sixes, his opening partner KL Rahul smacked eight huge sixes off his own during his scintillating 49-ball 89.

While India failed to score much in their final two overs, their 260-run total continues to stand as one of the world’s highest team T20I scores of all time. Later in the match, spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav skittled Sri Lanka for just 172 to secure an 88-run win for the hosts.

1. India 297-6 vs Bangladesh, Hyderabad 2024

India 297-6 vs Bangladesh, Hyderabad 2024 [Source: @BCCI/x]India 297-6 vs Bangladesh, Hyderabad 2024 [Source: @BCCI/x]

Demonstrating a remarkable no-holds barred approach, Indian batters went ballistic against Bangladesh bowlers in the third T20I of their three-match series at home in October 2024. Sealing the series with wins in the first two matches, the ‘Men in Blue’ batters listed 297-6 from their 20 overs in the dead-rubber after electing to bat first. Opener Sanju Samson charted his maiden T20I century by making 111 from 47 balls with eight sizzling sixes, including five in succession off a single Rishad Hossain over.

 Captain Suryakumar Yadav smacked 75 off 35 with eight boundaries and five sixes while Riyan Parag (34 off 13) and Hardik Pandya (47 off 18) also demonstrated their slog-overs dexterity as India recorded its highest-ever T20I score.