10 Most exciting batting performances in World T20

The World T20 is the ICC event of the shortest format and attracts tremendous crowd which floods in to see the biggest teams and players on the international arena in action. It literally rains fours and sixes with the batsmen hitting even the most respected of bowlers to all parts of the ground. T20 is unapologetically a batsman’s game, where bowlers are at the mercy of the pitch. It’s the batsmen who rule this format and though bowlers are slowly clawing their way in the bat wielders are the ones who make the tournament exciting. In that spirit, we bring to you 10 most exciting innings in World T20: 1. Chris Gayle 117 v South Africa, 2007: JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – SEPTEMBER 11: Chris Gayle of the West Indies celebrates his century during the ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup match between South Africa and West Indies at Wanderers Stadium on September 11, 2007 in Johannesburg, South Africa. (Photo by Duif du Toit/Gallo Images/Getty Images) Chris Gayle has made a name for himself in T20Is as one of the most destructive batsmen ever in the format. When the first ever World T20 was announced the first match was scheduled between hosts South Africa and West Indies. The tournament needed a great start and they got it from Chris Gayle. He took on the South African bowlers and hit them to all parts of the ground. He made the first ever century in T20 internationals and the World T20. His 117 off just 57 balls contained 10 huge sixes and 7 fours. West Indies made 205/6 in their 20 overs. 2. Yuvraj Singh 70 v Australia, 2007: Currently out of form and favour Yuvraj Singh scored his 8329 runs with a strike rate of 87.24. (Photo Source: AFP) The 2007 World T20 saw the emergence of Yuvraj Singh as of the best T20 batsman. He had already set the tourney on fire hitting 6 sixes of the Stuart Broad over in the England game. But he saved his best against Australia in the semi-finals of the tournament. He walked in after India lost Gambhir in the 8th over. Yuvi went on to have a good partnership with Robin Uthappa and MS Dhoni, as he himself hit Australian bowlers all over the Kingsmead Durban. He hit 70 runs in just 30 balls, with 5 sixes and 5 fours in his innings. He was especially brutal on Brett Lee in the innings. India made 188/5 in their 20 overs. 3. Chris Gayle 88 v Australia, 2009: Chris Gayle of the West Indies (L) is congratulated by Australia’s Brett Lee (R) after his innings of 88 during their ICC World Twenty20 match against Australia at The Oval in London, on June 6, 2009. AFP PHOTO/Glyn Kirk (Photo credit should read GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images) This was a group match between Australia and West Indies at the Kennington Oval in London. Australia had batted first and scored 169/7 in their 20 overs with David Warner scoring 63 and contributions from lower order batsmen. When the time came for the West Indians to chase, Chris Gayle decided that he wanted to end the game in a hurry and with his opening partner Andre Fletcher going in the same vein, went after the Aussie bowlers in the most brutal form possible. Gayle took special liking to Brett Lee and hit Lee’s 3rd over and the 5th over of the match for 26 runs. He hit Lee for 3 sixes and 2 fours in the over, with two of the sixes going out of the ground. Gayle scored 88 off 50 balls with 6 fours and 6 sixes and Fletcher made 53 from 32 balls and West Indies won the match in the 16th over, making 172/3. Do you know the batsmen with most sixes in World T20? – Most sixes Top 10 Batsmen with most sixes in World T20 4. Mike Hussey 60 v Pakistan, 2010: (Photo Source: Getty Images) This was the semi-final of the world T20 2010 between Australia and Pakistan. Pakistan batted first and scored a massive 191/6 in their 20 overs. Kamran Akmal scored 50 off 34 balls and his brother Umar Akmal made 56* from 35 balls to aid the cause of Pakistan. Australia tried their best to chase the total down, but none of their batsmen made a big score, until it came to the last few overs. In the last 2 overs, Australia needed 34 runs and in the last over, it all came down to 18 runs. Saeed Ajmal had the ball and Mike Hussey was on strike. Ajmal had given away 23 runs in his 3 previous overs. Mitch Johnson gave Hussey the strike on the first ball. After that Hussey got stuck into Ajmal, hitting him for 2 sixes off consecutive balls and then for a four. He finished the innings by hitting him for a six off the fifth ball, to stun Pakistan, who were the defending champions. 5. Brendon McCullum 123 v Bangladesh, 2012: KANDY, SRI LANKA – SEPTEMBER 21: Brendon McCullum of New Zealand with the Man of the Match trophy after New Zealand defeated Bangladesh the ICC World T20 Group D match between New Zealand and Bangladesh at Pallekele Cricket Stadium on September 21, 2012 in Kandy, Sri Lanka. (Photo by Graham Crouch-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) Brendon McCullum is one batsman, who like Gayle has made the T20 format his own; playing brutal knocks. One such inning came when New Zealand faced Bangladesh in a group match in the World T20 2012. New Zealand batted first and McCullum walked in after the first wicket fell in the 4th over. He then started dismantling the Bangladesh bowlers like they were club bowlers. He was batting with such force that his partner James Franklin scored just 33 runs in the 94-run partnership. McCullum ended up making the then highest T20I and World T20 score; he scored 123 off 58 balls with 11 fours and 7 huge sixes. New Zealand made 191/3 in 20 overs and won the match by 59 runs. 6. Alex Hales 116 v Sri Lanka, 2014: Alex Hales. (© Getty Images) In the World T20 2014 English team brought in an opener who was known to playing the big shots and also the innovative ones. This new change showed first in the match against Sri Lanka. The Lankans batted first and scored 189 with Jayawardene scoring 89 and Dilshan scoring 55 runs. English chase could not start more badly when they lost Michael Lumb for a duck and Moeen Ali followed him, also scoring a duck. But Alex Hales held his ground and scored a brilliant 116* off 64 balls including 11 fours and 6 sixes. He got support from Eoin Morgan who made 57 in 38 balls. England won by 6 wickets. 7. Virat Kohli 72* v South Africa, 2014: Virat Kohli. (© Getty Images) India faced South Africa in the semi-finals of the World T20 2014 at Mirpur. South Africa batted first and scored 172/4 on a turning pitch with Faf du Plessis scoring 58 and Duminy making 45*. The chase was tricky for India with South Africa using its slower bowlers to good effect. They got off to a good start with Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma making 39 in 4 overs. But with India needing 100 runs in the last 10 overs, their chase was anchored by the one and only Virat Kohli. He made 72* off just 44 balls and with the help of Suresh Raina, took India to victory without any further hiccups and into the finals of the tournament. 8. Umar Akmal 94 v Australia, 2014: Umar Akmal. (Photo Source: AFP) Australia and Pakistan met in the group match of the World T20 2014 and Pakistan batted first. They were going at a slow rate with Australia, bowling brilliantly. But then Umar Akmal decided to cut loose in a spectacular manner hitting 94 runs in 54 balls with 9 fours and 4 sixes. His innings was very effective in the last few overs taking Pakistan to 191/5. They managed to restrict Australia to 175 in 20 overs with only Aaron Finch (65) and Glenn Maxwell (74) reaching double figures. 9. Joe Root 83 v South Africa, 2016: Joe Root. (Photo Source: Twitter) The World T20 2016 saw a brilliant match between England and South Africa. South Africa batted first and scored 229/4 with some brilliant batting from Hashim Amla (58), Quinton de Kock (52) and JP Duminy (54* off 28 balls). It was a tough chase, but England went at it from the beginning. Their openers gave them a quick start and they had 71 runs in 5 overs and 111 runs in just 10 overs. Their chase was anchored by Joe Root who brilliantly manipulated the field and scored all over the Wankhede Stadium. Root made 83 off 44 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes. The match did go to the last over, but England was way ahead in their chase and made the record of the highest runs chased in a World T20 match. What is the record for the highest successful run chase in T20Is? –Top 10 Highest successful run chases in T20 Internationals 10. Virat Kohli 82* v Australia, 2016: India’s Virat Kohli(L) celebrates after victory as Australia’s James Faulkner looks on in the World T20 cricket tournament match between India and Australia at The Punjab Cricket Stadium Association Stadium in Mohali on March 27, 2016. / AFP / MONEY SHARMA (Photo credit should read MONEY SHARMA/AFP/Getty Images) India and Australia faced each other in a do or die encounter at Mohali. Australia batted first in the match and despite a brilliant first 6 overs in which they scored 59 runs, Australia slowly stuttered and reached 160/6 with Aaron Finch top scoring with 43 and Maxwell helping out with a quick fire 31 off 18 balls. India’s chase was hampered by the loss of openers for not a big score. But Virat Kohli was there and giving the Indian fans belief. Along with Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, he upped the tempo of the innings slowly. Kohli launched the final assault in the 18th over bowled by James Faulkner with 39 runs required in 18 balls. He hit Faulkner for fours and a six. He then hit Coulter-Nile for 4 fours in the next over to seal a win for India. Dhoni finished the match by hitting a four, but Kohli was the hero of the chase remaining not out on 82 which had 9 fours and 2 sixes in the innings. India knocked Australia out and reached the semis. Who are the batsmen with most sixes in a T20I innings? – Top 10 Batsmen with most sixes in a T20I innings

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10 Most exciting batting performances in World T20

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