What is the highest team total by South Africa in the history of the T20 World Cup?
The highest team total by South Africa in T20 World Cup history was scored back in 2016 against England. In match 18 of the tournament at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, the South African batters took the English bowlers to the cleaners and made their highest ever team total in the tournament’s history.
After getting invited to bat first on a batting-friendly pitch in Mumbai in the 2016 T20 World Cup, the South African batters came out with a clear mindset of just sending every ball to the boundary and scoring a huge total.
The openers, Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock, came out to bat and started the innings with a bang. Both of them made their respective fifties as they got their team off to a flier. Hashim Amla scored 58 runs in 31 balls with the help of seven fours and three sixes, whereas de Kock scored 52 runs in just 24 balls, hitting the same number of boundaries as his partner.
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The first wicket fell at the score of 96 runs, which was made in just 7.1 overs. Ab de Villiers (16 runs off 8 balls) and Faf du Plessis (17 runs off 17 balls) could not capitalize on the foundation built by the openers as the innings seemed to derail from the track.
But then, JP Duminy and David Miller provided an excellent flourish to the South African innings as the team posted a total of 229 runs on the board, their highest ever in the history of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Duminy scored 54 runs in 28 balls, and Miller scored 28 runs in just 12 balls, showcasing their phenomenal striking ability.
It was more of a fantastic batting effort from South Africa than a poor bowling effort from England, as the Proteas posted a huge total on the board. Unfortunately, they lost the match due to a poor effort from their bowlers as England chased down the target with five balls to spare. This historic match is still fresh in the minds of cricket fans because of the number of records that were broken that day.
