The inaugural T20 World Cup 2007 in South Africa was an eventful one. Teams did not know whether to take the traditional approach or go all out in the new format. Amidst confusion, Sri Lanka decided to take the attacking approach. In their first ever T20 World Cup appearance, Sri Lanka batters went absolutely ballistic to create a record which still remains unbroken 15 years later.
Kenya skipper Steve Tikolo made a huge mistake when he opted to field first against Mahela Jayawardene-led side. Sanath Jayasuriya decided not to curb his natural instinct and hit Kenyan bowlers all around the park. The wicket of Upul Tharanga (10) in the third over did not have an impact on him. Even Kumar Sangakkara's 18-ball 30 cameo looked like a second-fiddle knock as Jayasuriya dealt mostly in boundaries.
Sangakkara lost his wicket in the 10th over. Jayawardene joined the opener in the middle. Known for his elegant shots, Jayawardene decided to make full use of the platform as well. Boundaries were being scored from both ends. Jayasuriya was looking like he will go on to score a century on his T20 World Cup debut but Nehemiah Odhiambo had some consolation with the big-hitter's wicket.
Jayasuriya got out in the 15th over. The southpaw had scored 88 runs at a strike rate of 200. His knock included 11 fours and four sixes. The 85-run partnership for the third wicket came in just 29 deliveries.
Chamara Silva (5) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (3) did not make an impact. Jayawardene got to his half-century but got out in the slog overs. However, he had scored 65 runs from 27 deliveries including nine fours and two sixes. The strike rate of 240.74 suggested that Jayawardene batted absolutely opposite to his natural instinct to build the innings and then attack.
However, the best was yet to come. Kenya bowlers would have had a sigh of relief after seeing the back of Jayawardene but Jehan Mubarak turned out to be the one they did not prepare for at all. Mubarak hit as many as five sixes and three fours in his short stay at the crease. He remained unbeaten for 46 off just 13 balls to take Sri Lanka's score to 260/6, the highest score in the format then.
The story of the rest of the match was an expected one. Kenya batters succumbed under pressure and got all out for 88, losing the match by a colossal margin of 172 runs. Even though it came against a Kenyan bowling lineup, Sri Lanka’s massive score sent a message to the other teams in the tournament.
The closest any team has come to Sri Lanka's score is England. In T20 World Cup 2016, England pulled off a record-breaking run chase when they scored 230/8 against South Africa at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai.
Sri Lanka themselves have not been able to cross the 200-run mark since the inaugural season. Sri Lanka's record of highest total was not broken in T20I cricket until 2016 when Australia scored 263/3 against them in Pallekele, thanks to Glenn Maxwell's maiden T20I century. The current record belongs to Afghanistan who scored 278/3 against Ireland in 2019 but Sri Lankan batting lineup showed the world in the infant stages of the tournament that it can be done.
