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The date is 30 August, the year is 2019, the series is the Continental Cup and the venue is Moara Vlasiei Cricket Ground, Ilfov County. Doesn't ring any bells, does it?

However, what happened on this day is something that wasn't scripted and no one would've anticipated. The day witnessed Czech Republic locking horns against Turkey in a T20 match where the Czech Republic won the toss and elected to bat first.

There were numerous records broken and the level of excitement that the game produced was unprecedented, at least for one nation.

The Czech Republic had a flying start and Turkey were already put on the backfoot with Honey Gori and Sumit Pokhriyal hitting the ball all over the park.

However, Turkey were rewarded for their persistent efforts in the form of Honey Gori's wicket, who scored 32 from 21 bowls and the Czech Republic were a wicket down with 70 runs on the board.

Turkish bowler Ali Kose produced another dismissal for his side as Shaun Dalton went on a golden duck. Suddenly, Czech Republic were 83-2 and the brakes were on.

However, Pokhriyal was on a scoring spree as he batted graciously and troubled the Turkey bowling lineup. But things began to go from bad to worse when the Czech Republic lost their third wicket as Hilal Ahmed was bowled by Tunahan Turan.

At this point of the match, Turkey would've never thought what was coming for them. Sudesh Wickramasekara was on the crease but he didn't express any signs of anxiety.

On the contrary, from that very moment, Pokhriyal took the slower route, while Sudesh took the highway, thrashing every bowler that came in his way.

Sudesh concluded the Czech Republic innings with an unbeaten score of 104 from just 36 bowls, scoring eight boundaries and ten sixes in the process.

On the other end, Pokhriyal lost his wicket when he was on 79 but the job was done. The batting side lost their fourth and their last wicket of the innings when they had just crossed the 200 mark (201-4). The Czech Republic skipper Edward Knowles also scored 16 runs off 11 balls, scoring three fours, assisting Sudesh in his legendary innings.

As you may have noticed, the first innings was definitely in contention of the number of records broken in an innings. But the second half of the innings was yet to be played and it was expected that we'll witness some fireworks from the Turkey batsmen as well.

Hasan Helva and Serdar Kansoy were at the crease and the second innings was underway. Turkey had completely different fortunes compared to the Czech Republic as Turkey were handed their first blow when Hasan Helva lost the ball to the stumps from a fabulous delivery from Honey Gori.

Not to forget Honey Gori was also crucial in laying the foundation of what turned out to be one of the most explosive innings a T20I game had seen.

It was the Turkey skipper Recep Ulutana who stepped on the crease to help his side recoup but even he did not have an answer to Gori's delivery as he got out on a golden duck, while Turkey were two wickets down with just a run on the scoreboard. 

Turkey were under tremendous pressure and the game already looked like it had slipped from their hands. Wickets kept falling with Turkey's third batsman going on a duck but this time due to a run-out. Serdar Kansoy departs with a duck. Turkey, now 2 runs for three wickets.

Serkan Kizilkaya was on strike when he fell to another astonishing ball from Gori who picked his third wicket, dismantling the stumps on each occasion.

The Turkey batting lineup had lost their spine and they were unable to even survive for the entire 20 overs.

Ali Kose, Hasan Alta, Tunahan Ulutuna did not score any runs either, while Mehmet Sermat, Turkey's most effective bowler also scored the most runs for his side (12 off 11).

For the Czech Republic side, Sameera Waththage joined Honey Gori, picking three wickets as well, while Sudesh Wickramasekara who exploded with the bat also managed to take a couple of wickets from just nine balls.

Turkey were done and dusted for a total of 21 runs within nine overs (8.3). It was indeed not a day to remember for the Turkey supporters. The Czech Republic squad had not only outplayed their opponents but also registered themselves in the history books.

Records Broken

Four T20I world records were disrupted in four hours of gameplay by the Czech Republic. Let's have a look at them individually.

# The Czech Republic with a score of 278 became the joint record holders for the most runs or the highest team score in T20Is. Afghanistan, another country that no one speaks about very often had scored the same amount of runs against Ireland in that very year.

# Turkey also registered itself in the history books after they recorded the lowest team total in T20Is (21). Surprisingly, they broke their record in this category, having scored just 28 against Luxembourg a day before they played the Czech Republic.

# This game also recorded the highest margin of a victory in a T20I (in terms of runs) after a 257 win over Turkey by the Czech Republic.

# Turkey had a nightmare as their batting innings completed in just 51 balls, another lowest total that went into the books. They also took hold of the second spot after they were swept clean in just 53 balls a day later when they played Austria.

# Eight out of 11 Turks were dismissed with no runs scored, another record that found the books. Not just that, Turkish bowlers also gave away 39 extras that included seven no-balls, the most in a T20I inning.

# Sudesh Wickramasekara equaled some legends of the T20 format as he fired the fastest century in a T20I in just 35 balls. Do you know who the other recognized batsmen are? Rohit Sharma from India and David Miller from South Africa.

# Tunahan Turan conceded a total of 70 runs in just four overs, making him the bowler with the second most expensive spell in a T20I game.

However, it was later known that Turkey were without 7 of their players from the main XI as they were stuck with visa issues. Thus, the performance levels were bound to drop as the players on the field were just there for the sake of supporting their nation.

So yes, this game may have broken multiple world records, it is safe to say that the Turks didn't have much to own. 

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