Top 5 Highest Totals Chased By India In T20Is

Saksham Chugh

image-lpcgbvhdSuryakumar Yadav's 42-ball 80 helps India complete record-chase

In the shortest format of modern-day cricket, we often see games where a truckload of runs are scored, and the first T20I between India and Australia was nothing different. While there were 240 legal deliveries bowled in the games, the players went on to smash 423 runs. The series opener between India and Australia was nothing short of a thrilling contest as both teams could have won the game until the last ball. 

Australia put up a mammoth total of 209, and team India successfully reached the target, recording their highest score ever while chasing, in the history of T20I cricket. With Suryakumar's master class and Rinku Singh's finishing touch, India won the first T20I of the series. 

Let us have a look at India's 5 highest scores while chasing in the shortest format of the game.

209 vs Australia, Visakhapatnam, 2023

image-lpcg3s76Rinku Singh (X.com)

Despite coming from a heartbreaking loss in the World Cup 2023 Final, team India showed character and went on to win the thrilling contest in the first game of the five-match T20I series against Australia. Suryakumar Yadav, who was also a part of India's World Cup team, was leading this young bunch and played a captain's knock of 80 runs off just 42 deliveries. 

With Josh Inglis's 110-run knock, Australia managed to put up a total of 208. India lost two early wickets but the 112-run partnership between Surya and Ishan Kishan, helped India reach closer to the target followed by Rinku Singh's brilliant finishing 40-run knock helped India secure a victory in the record-breaking chase.


208 vs West Indies, Hyderabad, 2019

image-lpcg4zk1Virat Kohli (X.com)

How can one forget this game when it comes to the highest chases in T20Is in the history of Indian cricket? Virat Kohli's notebook celebration is still etched in our hearts. Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer and Kieron Pollard played brilliant knocks while batting first and took the Caribbean's total to 207.

On the other hand, the 100-run partnership between KL Rahul and Virat Kohli helped India get closer to the target and then Kohli took on Kesrick Williams, thrashing him all over the park, sealing the chase with eight balls to spare and went on to score 94*. 


207 vs Sri Lanka, Mohali, 2009

image-lpcg5yuaYuvraj Singh (X.com)

In the second game of the two-match T20I series between India and Sri Lanka, Dhoni and his men were in a must-win game or else Sri Lanka would have aced the series with 2-0. The Sri Lankan team having the likes of Dilshan, Sangakkara, Jayawardene and Jayasuriya managed to post a total of 206 runs with Sangakkara's second fifty of the series. 

One of the greatest white ball batters of the Indian team, Yuvraj Singh knocked the Lankan bowlers out of the park, smashing 60 runs off just 25 deliveries with the help of five maximums. Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni also contributed with their 64 and 46 respectively and helped India level the series by chasing a total of 207 runs with five balls remaining. 


204 vs New Zealand, Auckland, 2020

image-lpcg6ot0Shreyas Iyer (X.com)

After the 2019 World Cup, team India visited New Zealand for an all-format tour. New Zealand won the Test and ODI series and the only way India could save their reputation was by winning the five-match T20I Series. In the first match, with half-centuries from Colin Munro, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, the Kiwis managed to post a total of 203 runs. 

Team India with a few new guys, were about to chase 203 but lost Rohit Sharma early in the innings. KL Rahul and Virat Kohli pulled India back in the games with their partnership of 99 runs, while Shreyas Iyer with his blistering knock of 58 off just 29 deliveries finished the game with six deliveries still left.


202 vs Australia, Rajkot, 2013

image-lpcg7f4zYuvraj Singh (X.com)

In the one-off T20I game, the Australian team, while batting first posted a total of 201 with the help of Aaron Finch's blistering knock of 89 runs off just 52 deliveries and Maxwell's four sixes. Australia suffered a defeat in the seven-match ODI series and were looking to win this one-off T20I game. 

Team India lost Rohit Sharma early but Shikhar Dhawan was smashing boundaries occasionally, but a few more wickets fell and it came down to their last batting pair Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni with 102 runs still left. Yuvraj Singh played one hell of an innings, scoring 77 off just 35 deliveries and helping India seal the victory.