Baroda shattered a pile of T20 records in the final round of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy group stage as they became the first team to score 300 runs in a T20 innings against Sikkim in Indore on Thursday.
Led by No. 3 Bhanu Pania’s 42-ball century, Baroda crossed the 300-run mark in just 17.2 overs.
Batting first in a must-win match in the absence of Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Baroda lost their wicket after openers Shashwat Rawat and Abhimanyu Singh Rajput shared 92 runs in five overs. After a quickfire 53 off 17 balls.
Baroda soon became the first Indian domestic team outside the IPL to record 100 runs in a T20 Powerplay and the run-scoring rate only got faster with each over.
At the end of 10 overs, Baroda scored a mammoth 180 after No. 3 Pania and Shivalik Sharma attacked after the openers. Baroda crossed 200 in just 10.3 overs, making it the fastest team to 200 in T20 history.
They surpassed India’s record of 297/6 against Bangladesh in just overs since October and became the third T20I team to score 300 runs in an innings. Interestingly, Baroda is the first domestic T20 team to achieve the historic feat since Zimbabwe made 344/4 against Gambia this year and Nepal made 314/3 against Mongolia in 2023.
Heading into the match, Baroda finished third in their group behind Saurashtra and Gujarat in net run rate, while tied on 20 points. A big NRR boost can only help Baroda secure a spot in the knockouts if all three teams win their matches. Gujarat will play against Karnataka and Saurashtra against Tripura on Thursday.