India won its first 20/20

India won its first 20/20 (Twenty20) match against South Africa

Finally India played its first ever 20/20 match and won the same in Johannesburg.

India beat South Africa by six wickets with a ball to spare in a thrilling finish to the day/night Twenty20 match. I was lucky enough to watch the match.

Twenty20 is a form of cricket, originally introduced in the United Kingdom for professional inter-county competition by the England and Wales Cricket Board in 2003. India was away from Twenty20 for a long time but finally on 1-Dec-2006 India played its first Twenty20 game.

South Africa won the toss and decided to bat. India beat South Africa by 6 wickets. Karthik’s last-over six all but assured victory. Final score:
=> India (127-4) bt South Africa (126-9) by six wickets

So India made its first debut in Twenty20. So what makes it different than regular ODI?

(a) Apart from dancing girls and boys (or cheer leaders), each team bats for a maximum of only 20 overs
(b) The Laws of cricket apply to Twenty20 but there are some exceptions such as:

• Should a bowler deliver a no ball by overstepping the popping crease, it costs 2 runs and his next delivery is designated a free-hit, from which the batsman can only be dismissed through a run out, as is the case for the original “no ball”.
• Bowlers may bowl a maximum of only 4 overs per innings
• Umpires may award 5-run penalty runs at their discretion if they believe either team is wasting time.

(c) The following fielding restrictions apply:

1. No more than 5 fielders can be on the leg side at any time.
2. After the first 6 overs, a maximum of 5 fielders can be outside the fielding circle.
3. During the first 6 overs, a maximum of 2 fielders can be outside the fielding circle.

(d) If the match ends with the scores tied and there must be a winner, the tie is broken with a bowl-out (similar to a penalty shootout in football), with 5 bowlers from each side delivering 2 balls each at an unguarded wicket. If the number of wickets is equal after the first 10 balls per side, the bowling continues and is decided by sudden death.