T20 World Cup: 10 best innings from tournament

The T20 World Cup 2022 is a little over three months away and fans must be going through a long memory lane for some of the most memorable innings in the past. That can start from Yuvraj’s six consecutive sixes against England’s Stuart Broad in 2007 to Mitchell Marsh’s match-winning unbeaten 77 against New Zealand in the finals last year.

India won the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007 by beating arch-rivals Pakistan. They rank first in the ICC T20I teams chart and are once against favourites to win the upcoming T20 World Cup. Australia, who are hosting the T20 World Cup in October-November, are the defending champions and will be confident to retain their title at home, while England and Pakistan will definitely fancy their chances to get their hands on the silverware in Australia.

Meanwhile, there have been many memorable match-winning knocks in the T20 World Cup history. Let us take a look at top ten of those:

1. Yuvraj Singh (58 off 16 vs England, 2007)

Indian batter played one of the best innings of his career in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007 as he smashed 58 runs off just 16 balls against England. Yuvraj Singh reached 50 in just 12 balls, a world record in T20 cricket, which still stands. But the best part of that innings was Yuvraj hitting six consecutive sixes against Stuart Broad.

England’s star all-rounder Andrew Flintoff teased Yuvraj at the end of his over and that enraged the Indian star to hit six sixes in the next over. That was something unthinkable for the fans as this happened for the first time in T20I cricket. Before Yuvraj, only South Africa’s Herschelle Gibbs had smashed six sixes in international cricket.

Yuvraj was phenomenal throughout the tournament with consistently big performances. He played another explosive knock against Australia in the semifinal clash. He finished that World Cup with 148 runs including two scintillating and significant half-centuries.

2. Chris Gayle (117 off 57 vs South Africa, 2007)

West Indies legend scored a century against South Africa in the opening match of the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. He kick-started the tournament by making and breaking a few world records. This was also the first-ever T20I century.

Chris Gayle scored 117 runs off just 57 balls at a strike rate of 205.26 as 88 runs in his knock came from only fours and sixes. West Indies went on to score 205 in 20 overs while batting first, but South Africa surprised everyone by chasing the huge total with ease with eight wickets and 14 balls remaining.

Opener Herschelle Gibbs scored an unbeaten 90 and Justin Kemp scored 46* off just 22 balls. However, Gayle was awarded the Player of the Match.

3. Michael Hussey (60* off 24 vs Pakistan 2010)

The former Australian batter, Michael Hussey, played plenty of memorable knocks in every format of the game, including an unbeaten 116-run knock against Kings XI Punjab in 2008. But his unbeaten 60 runs off just 24 balls against Pakistan at Gros Islet in T20 World Cup 2010 will be remembered forever.

Pakistan, who had reached the finals of the previous two editions and won the 2009 T20 World Cup, put 191 runs while batting first in the semi-final. Australia were struggling at 144/7 with less than three overs remaining and Hussey, playing in the number seven position, played the innings of that edition.

He smashed six sixes, three of which came against Saeed Ajmal in the 20th over, and guided his team to the finals with a ball remaining. Known as Mr. Cricket, he repeatedly proved his all-around abilities of playing in different positions and with different roles. He made his debut at 28 years of age but still managed to score more than 12000 international runs.

4. Joe Root (83 off 44 vs South Africa, 2016)

Known for scoring consistently big runs in Test cricket, Joe Root played one of the most memorable innings of his career in T20 World Cup in 2016 in India. He smashed 83 runs off just 44 balls against South Africa in the group stage fixture at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Quinton de Kock, Hashim Amla, and JP Duminy smashed fifties to guide Proteas to a big total of 229/4 after batting first. England started the big chase by hitting 44 runs in the first two overs. They kept losing wickets but Root’s 83-run knock guided the Three Lions to register a two-wicket win with two balls remaining.

Root ranks first in the ICC Test batters chart and recently reached the 10000-run milestone with the help of 28 centuries. His numbers in white-ball cricket are very impressive, with 6109 runs in ODIs at an average of 51.3 and 893 runs at an average of 35.7 in T20Is. But lately, he is focusing on red-ball cricket and is rarely featured in the shortest format of the game.

5. Yuvraj Singh (70 off 30 vs Australia, 2007)

Yuvraj has another innings that deserves a place in this list. After hitting six sixes in an over against England, the Indian batter went on to score another match-winning knock in T20 World Cup in 2007 as he scored 70 runs off just 30 balls against Australia in the semi-final.

India opted to bat first but were struggling at 41/2 after the end of eight overs. Yuvraj, who showered the rain of sixes in the previous matches, smashed 70 runs to guide Team India to put 188 runs before Indian bowlers defended the big total.

Australia, the most feared team in red-ball cricket back then, were favourites to win the inaugural edition. Yuvraj’s innings will be remembered forever for breaking Australia’s dominance in World Cup cricket.

6. Herschelle Gibbs (90* off 55 vs West Indies, 2007)

Former South African opener, Herschelle Gibbs, played two great innings in his career and both came in the same year, 2007. He became the first player to smash six sixes in an over in ODI cricket, which happened against the Netherlands in the 2007 ODI World Cup. But he played a more impactful innings for South Africa by smashing unbeaten 90 runs in the opening match of the 2007 T20 World Cup.

West Indies put a big total of 205 runs while batting first after Chris Gayle’s century storm at the Wanderers. Gayle scored the first-ever T20I hundred to kick off the inaugural T20 World Cup in style. But Gibbs, who had recently hit six sixes in the ODI World Cup, guided the Proteas to a memorable win by scoring an unbeaten 90 runs off just 55 balls at a strike rate of 163.63.

Gibbs’ knock was enough for the hosts to register an easy win of eight wickets with 14 balls remaining. The inaugural T20 World Cup had many memorable innings but this knock will be remembered forever.

7. Tillakaratne Dilshan (96* off 57 vs West Indies, 2009)

Former Sri Lankan captain, Tillakratne Dilshan, played many great knocks in every format of the game but his 96-run knock against West Indies in the T20 World Cup in 2009 beat all. He came very close to scoring the only second T20I century but fell four runs short.

Sri Lankan batters struggled for big runs while batting first in the semi-final clash against West Indies. But Dilshan single-handedly managed to guide his team to a 158-run total. This was never a challenging target for West Indies but Angelo Matthews took three wickets in his first over and guided his team to the finals of 2009 edition.

He reached 91 runs at the end of the 19th over but scored only five runs in the last over and missed a century. Dilshan scored 1889 runs in 80 T20I matches at an average of 28.2 and a strike rare of 120.5 and played a crucial role in Sri Lanka’s World Cup campaign in 2009.

8. Virat Kohli (72* off 44 vs South Africa, 2014)

Virat Kohli has played many unforgettable knocks in every format and at every stage in his illustrious career so far. He is definitely playing many more but it will be safe to say that his match-winning knock against South Africa in 2014 will be his best innings in T20 World Cup. He smashed an unbeaten 72 off just 44 balls to help India reach the finals of the T20 World Cup 2014 in Bangladesh.

South Africa put 172 runs after batting first, thanks to captain Faf du Plessis’ fifty and JP Duminy’s unbeaten 45-run knock. But Indian batters did a great job and chased down the total with six wickets and five balls remaining. Kohli built up his innings with only ones and twos in his first 17 balls. He scored more than half of his runs without any boundaries with just three dot balls. Kohli later pointed out the importance of singles in T20I cricket, which has helped him keep around a 50-run average.

Kohli termed this innings his favourite T20I knock as it helped India reach the finals of the 2014 World Cup. He is currently going through poor form, with his last international century coming in 2019. But he needs only one big innings to return to his regular best and create more memorable moments in the near future.

9. Brendon McCullum (123 off 58 vs Bangladesh, 2012)

New Zealand legend Brendon McCullum will be remembered for his 158-run knock in the inaugural Indian Premier League match in 2008. But the former opener played a more important innings for the Black Caps four years later. He scored 123 runs off just 58 balls against Bangladesh in the T20 World Cup in 2012 in Pallekele.

He broke Richard Levi’s record of highest runs in T20I cricket. McCullum also became the first player to score two tons in T20Is. New Zealand put 191 runs on the scoreboard while batting first and won their opening match by 59 runs after three-wicket hauls from Tim Southee and Kyle Mills.

The knock still remains the highest innings-score in the T20 World Cup. McCullum scored more than 14000 international runs during his explosive career and now is the head coach of England’s red-ball team.

10. Mitchell Marsh (77* off 50 vs New Zealand, 2021)

The star Australian all-rounder, Mitchell Marsh, played a match-winning knock in the last match of the T20 World Cup. He smashed unbeaten 77 runs off just 50 balls against New Zealand in the finals of the 2021 edition to hand Australia their maiden T20 World Cup trophy.

Kane Williamson played a memorable innings of 85 runs off 48 balls to put 172 runs on the scoreboard. But Australia overcame their neighbours quite easily with an eight-wicket win with seven balls remaining. Marsh, batting at No. 3, played confident cricket from the start and remained unbeaten in their historic chase.

This was his second fifty of this tournament where he scored the second-highest runs for his team, 185 runs at an average of 61.66 in five innings.