266 chase, 51 sixes, 3 centurions: When T20 arithmetic was re-written

One for T20 record books

266 chase, 51 sixes, 3 centurions: When T20 arithmetic was re-written

by Deepu Narayanan •

Gous and Smith put on 241 for the third wicket in the chase. © Sportzpics

Gous and Smith put on 241 for the third wicket in the chase. © Sportzpics

267 The target of 267 chased down by Washington Freedom is the highest ever in the history of all T20 cricket surpassing 265 by Punjab Kings against Delhi Capitals in Delhi earlier this year in IPL.

Highest successful chases in T20s

TargetTeamAgainstTournamentVenueYear267WFMINYMLCOakland2026265PBKSDCIPLDelhi2026262PBKSKKRIPLKolkata2024259South AfricaWest IndiesT20ICenturion2023258Brisbane HeatPerth ScorchersBBLBrisbane2025253MiddlesexSurreyT20 BlastThe Oval2023

51 sixes hit the game - the highest tally in a T20 game and the first instance of 50+ sixes hit in a T20. MI New York hit 29 while Freedom responded with 22. The previous highest was 42 each achieved twice - once each in IPL and CPL, both in 2024.

29 maximums by MI New York is the most by a team in an innings in MLC surpassing 28 by San Francisco Unicorns against Washington Freedom in Oakland in 2025.

Most sixes in a T20

Sixes countMatchVenueTournamentYear51MINY vs WFOaklandMLC202642KKR vs PBKSKolkataIPL202442SKNP vs GAWBasseterreCPL202441Bulgaria vs GibraltarSofiaT20I202541Bengali vs PunjabHyderabadSMAT2025

270/4 by Freedom in the highest ever total in the history of MLC, surpassing 269/5 by San Francisco Unicorns against Washington Freedom at the same venue in the season opener last year. MI New York's 266/9 sits third in the list.

536 The match aggregate of 536 runs is the second-highest in the history of T20 cricket, only behind the 549-run contest between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and SRH in Bengaluru in IPL 2024.

Batters reach new heights in T20 cricket legacy

3 hundreds scored in the match - Nicholas Pooran (106), Andries Gous (132), and Steven Smith (110*). This is the first instance of three individual hundreds in a T20 match. There have been 55 previous instances of T20 games featuring two centurions. This is the 16th instance of two hundreds in a T20 innings and the first such instance in MLC.

241 The partnership of 241 between Gous and Smith is the joint second-highest for any wicket in the history of T20 cricket. In domestic T20s, it is the highest ever, surpassing the 229-run second wicket partnership between Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Gujarat Lions in Bengaluru in IPL 2016.

Highest partnerships in T20s

PartnersWkt#PshipTeamAgainstGroundYearK Kadowaki-Fleming, L Yamamoto-Lake1258*JapanChinaMong Kok2024Litton Das, Tanzid Hasan1241DhakaRajshahiSylhet2025A Gous, S Smith3241WFMINYOakland2026B Kohler-Cadmore, Musaddiq Ahmed1238GermanyAustriaKrefeld2026Hazratullah Zazai, Usman Ghani1236AfgIreDehradun2019H Brook, J Buttler2233EngIndSouthampton2026

1Gous became the first USA batter to register a three-figure score in MLC. There have been five previous instances of a USA batter getting to 90s, with Gous' 96 against the same opponent two days ago being the highest of those. Overall, it is the fourth highest individual score in MLC for any batter.

31 balls taken by Pooran to get to his century. It is the second-fastest 100 in franchise T20 cricket, only behind Chris Gayle's 30-ball effort for Royal Challengers Bengaluru against Pune Warriors India in Bengaluru in 2013. The previous fastest in MLC being Finn Allen's 35-ball effort last year.

Fastest 100s in franchise T20s (by balls)

BallsBatterForAgainstVenueTournamentYear30C GayleRCBPWIBengaluruIPL201331N PooranMINYWFOaklandMLC202635F AllenSFUWFOaklandMLC202535V SooryavanshiRRGTJaipurIPL202536Usman KhanMSQGRawalpindiPSL202336V SooryavanshiRRSRHJaipurIPL2026

14 balls by Pooran to get to his 50. It is the fastest in MLC; he surpassed fellow West Indian Rovman Powell, who smashed a 15-ball 50 earlier in the day for LAKR against San Franciso Unicorns.

1001 sixes hit by Kieron Pollard - only the second batter to reach the 1000-mark in T20s, after Chris Gayle who hit 1056 sixes. Earlier in the season, he surpassed Gayle to become the leading run-getter in the format.

© Cricbuzz

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