“Win the toss and choose to bowl” has become the norm in T20 cricket in recent years.
With the format turning out to be a batsman’s game with every series, teams batting second have been enjoying the privilege of knowing the target and planning their chase much more efficiently. The influence of the dew effect on the night matches and the batter-friendly pitches make it more challenging for the bowlers to defend totals.
This article will list the top ten teams with the most wins while batting first in T20 internationals and their win percentage in successfully defending the targets.
Most T20I Wins by Teams While Batting First
| TEAM | MATCHES | WON | LOST | TIED/NR | WIN% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India | 138 | 86 | 45 | 7 | 62.31 |
| Pakistan | 131 | 76 | 52 | 3 | 58.01 |
| New Zealand | 121 | 67 | 44 | 10 | 55.37 |
| South Africa | 104 | 60 | 43 | 1 | 57.69 |
| Afghanistan | 81 | 51 | 29 | 1 | 62.96 |
| England | 85 | 46 | 34 | 5 | 54.11 |
| West Indies | 102 | 46 | 48 | 8 | 45.09 |
| Sri Lanka | 106 | 46 | 58 | 2 | 43.39 |
| Australia | 86 | 45 | 38 | 3 | 52.32 |
| Uganda | 45 | 38 | 7 | 0 | 84.44 |
Key Stats
The strength of the Pakistani bowling unit is apparent with the percentage of successful defends in the format. The Asian team has played the most number of T20 internationals and has the best win% among the top teams.
However, Afghanistan tops the win% list among the top ten list. But one should consider that Afghanistan has played most of its games against the associate members during their rise in international cricket.
Sri Lanka and West Indies lie at the bottom of the win% column as they have lost more than half of the games they batted first in T20Is.
Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan tops the win% among the captains who have successfully defended their teams’ scores in the format. Here are the top ten captains who have won most games while their teams bat first.
Captains with Most Wins while Batting First in T20Is
| CAPTAINS | MATCHES | WON | LOST | TIED / N/R | WIN% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kane Williamson (NZ) | 45 | 27 | 17 | 1 | 60.00 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 35 | 26 | 8 | 1 | 74.28 |
| Asghar Afghan (AFG) | 30 | 25 | 5 | 0 | 83.33 |
| Ahmed Faiz (MAL) | 41 | 23 | 16 | 2 | 56.09 |
| Brian Masaba (UGA) | 28 | 23 | 5 | 0 | 82.14 |
| Gerhard Erasmus (NAM) | 30 | 20 | 10 | 0 | 66.67 |
| MS Dhoni (IND) | 36 | 19 | 15 | 2 | 52.78 |
| Sarfaraz Ahmed (PAK) | 23 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 78.26 |
| Babar Azam (PAK) | 39 | 18 | 19 | 2 | 46.15 |
| Eoin Morgan (ENG) | 32 | 17 | 13 | 2 | 53.13 |
When you filter the above list to the current captains, Namibia’s Gerhard Erasmus tops the list by winning more than 78% of his team’s first-batted matches.
Among the current captains of the top ten sides, India’s Rohit Sharma who fairs well in this scenario. You can find out Rohit’s complete captaincy record in this blog.
