T20 Cricket

T20 cricket is a short form of cricket. Now a day’s spectators don’t have any time to watch 50 over game or test match for five days they get bored and they want fast and full of entertaining cricket which has fours and sixes.

This format of cricket was introduced by the England and Wales cricket board (ECB) in 2003 to swiftly attract the spectator at the ground and on a television set. T20 format is recognized by International Cricket Council (ICC) at international and domestic level. A game of T20 cricket is completed in three hours lasting ninety minutes on each inning. The first official T20 world cup tournament was played back in 2007 won by India.

Rules of T20 Cricket:

The laws of T20 cricket essentially follow those of traditional 50-over cricket matches, However, whilst T20 shares many of the laws of the longer versions of the one-day game, it also possesses certain individual rules that are designed to speed up the passage of play. Though some cricket traditionalists have argued that these specific laws cheapen the image of cricket, they are ultimately designed to give T20 a fresh and more exciting edge.

The ‘Free Hit’ – The ‘Free Hit’ serves to penalize a bowler if he delivers a no-ball by overstepping his mark. The Free Hit is awarded following such an infringement and basically means that the batsman will not be given out for that delivery unless he is run out. The batsman is essentially given a free swing, without fear of the repercussions.

Five-run penalties – In T20 cricket, an umpire may award one of the team’s five bonus runs if he feels the opposition is needlessly wasting time. This is designed to maintain the flow and pace of a T20 match.

75-minute time limits – Bowling teams are forced to complete their 20 overs within 75 minutes (i.e. three minutes and 45 seconds per over). A bonus of six runs is given to the batting team if the bowling side has not begun its twentieth over before their 75 minutes is up. Once again, this rule aims to maintain the rhythm and pace of the T20 game.

Bowling restrictions of T20 – In a move once more designed to favor the batting team, individual bowlers are only allowed to bowl for a total of four overs during a T20 game. This obviously limits the damage that can be inflicted on the batting side by a single, in-form bowler.

The 90-second rule – Once a wicket has fallen in a T match, the following batsman must take up his position at the wicket or bowler’s end within 90 seconds. If they are unable to do so, they could potentially be disqualified from batting in the match.

Fielding restrictions of T20 – T20 cricket laws only allow five fielders to stand on the leg side of the batsman at any one time. Similarly, only two fielders are allowed to stand outside of the inner circle in the first six overs of play. This number increases to five fielders in the remaining 14 overs. These restrictions are designed to increase the flow of runs in a match, in order to create more of a spectacle for watching fans.

Bowl-outs – Akin to the penalty shootout in many other sports, bowl-outs take place at the end of tied T20 matches. Five bowlers from each side are allowed to bowl twice at the wicket, with no batsman standing in its way. The team to topple the most wickets wins the game.

T20 format is swiftly growing every Test nation have their own league tournaments like

Indian Premier League (IPL)

Pakistan Super League (PSL)

Big Bash League(BBl).    

Bangladesh Premier League(BPL)

New Zealand’s (Super Smash) now with burger King Super SmashSouth Africa's Mzansi Super League

West Indies Caribbean premier Leauge