Top 10 captains with highest individual scores in T20Is

Centuries in T20Is are a very big thing. You only have 2 overs for the whole team to bat and if you make an individual century in that, you deserve every bit of applauds and adulation that you receive. More so, if you are the captain of the team and score the century or even top score for your team in the innings, you are leading from the front. Here are 10 such captains with highest individual scores in T20Is. 10. Graeme Smith (South Africa) – 88 vs. England, 2009, Centurion Graeme Smith. (Photo: Getty Images) Second match of the T20 series and Africa chose to bat first on a placid Centurion pitch. This innings saw one of the highest partnerships in T20I, when Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman added 170 runs together. Smith scored 88 off 44 balls and Bosman made a career best 94 off 45 balls with 9 sixes. De Villiers scored 24 off 13 to help South Africa reach a humongous 241/6 in 20 overs. England’s batting line up was no match for chasing such a big total and managed to score 157/8 with Jonathan Trott making 51. South Africa won by 84 runs and Smith led from the front to take them to victory. 09. Chris Gayle (West Indies) – 88 vs. Australia, 2009, the Oval Chris Gayle. (Photo Source: AFP) A crucial match on the ICC World T20 2009, held in England between West Indies and Australia, proved to be one of the most exciting matches in T20 World Cup history. Australia batted first after Ponting won the toss and Warner scored a wonderful 63 and useful contributions from Brad Haddin (24), David Hussey (27) and Mike Hussey (28*) took Australia to 169/7. The total was a competitive one and Australia felt they had a chance with bowlers like Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson in their ranks. But they encountered a rampaging Chris Gayle, who took the wind out of Australian bowling attack with his shots. Lee went for 27 runs in an over, with Gayle hitting 3 sixes and 2 of them going out of the ground at the Oval. He was ably supported by Andre Fletcher who made 52 off 32 balls. Gayle scored 88 off 55 balls with 6 fours and 6 sixes and their partnership of 133 runs made sure that West Indies won the match comfortably. 08. Michael Swart (Netherlands) – 89 vs. Kenya, 2013, Windhoek Michael Swart. (Photo Source: ICC) Not many would have heard the name of Michael Swart, but the Netherlands captain made a record against Kenya in 2013, that will keep him in history of T20Is for a long time. Swart made 89 off 55 balls with 5 sixes and 6 fours against Kenya in a T20I. Along with Stephen Myburgh who scored 41, Swart ensured that Netherlands scored 172 runs for the loss of 5 wickets. But they were in a rude shock, when Collins Obuya, the Kenyan captain scored 75* off 37 balls and with Obanda making 47 and Rakep Patel making 36, Kenya overhauled the total set by Netherlands easily. 7. Graeme Smith (South Africa) – 89* vs. Australia, 2006, Johannesburg Graeme Smith. (Photo Source: Getty Images) Australia and South Africa met in Johannesburg for a one-off T20 match in 2006. South Africa batted first after winning the toss. Smith led from the front with a brilliant 89* off 58 balls. Gibbs scored 56 off 34 and helped South Africa reach 201/4. Australia gave one hell of a run chase with Katich scoring 39 at the top. But the real fight came from Brad Hogg (41) and Brett Lee (43*) who took Australia within the grasp of winning the match. But in the end, they fell just 2 runs short of the target. Smith was given the Man of the match for his brilliant man winning 89*. 6. Steve Smith (Australia) – 90 vs. England, 2015, Cardiff Steve Smith. (© Getty Images) Steve Smith won the toss against England and out them to bat at Cardiff in 2015. England scored 182/5 with Moeen Ali scoring 72* and captain Eoin Morgan scoring 74 off 39 balls with 7 sixes. With a big score to chase, the Australian openers fell cheaply, but captain Smith and Maxwell got together to rebuilt the innings and inch towards the victory. Smith scored 90 off 54 balls and Maxwell scored 44 off 36 balls. But ultimately, Australia fell short by 5 runs in the end. Moeen Ali got the man of the match for his 72 runs and 1 wicket. 5. Chris Gayle (West Indies) -98 vs. India, ICC World T20 2010, Barbados Chris Gayle. (© Getty Images) This came way back when Chris Gayle was the captain of the West Indian cricket team. He was already a big T20 player, thanks to his exploits all over, but he was also committed to the West Indian cricket. This was a match against India in the 2010 ICC World T20 and West Indies was in red hot form, with Chris Gayle leading the way. West Indies were put into bat by India and Chris Gayle stuck into the Indian bowling. He hit 7 sixes and 5 fours in 67 balls to reach 98 runs. He was run out while attempting a quick single, but he had done enough to take West Indies to 169 runs. India could not get any momentum in their innings and despite useful contributions from Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni, India fell short by 14 runs in the end. Chris Gayle was named the Man of the match for his utterly explosive 98 runs in which he took apart every Indian bowler. 4. Ricky Ponting (Australia) – 98* vs. New Zealand, Only T20I, 2005, Auckland Ricky Ponting. (© Getty Images) This cannot get bigger, to come to the party, when your team is making history. The event as the very first T20 International played between Australia and New Zealand in Auckland in 2005. The new 20 over format had caught the attention of the ICC, who fancied the ECB invention of T20 format, which started in 2003 and wanted to take it international. No one knew how the format went and how to pace the innings, but the match has become one of the best matches ever played. Australia batted first after winning the toss and despite losing both their opener early, captain Ponting decided to make a mark for himself and went on to play one of the greatest T20 innings ever. With Symonds, Katich and Hussey giving ample support, Ponting scored 98* with 5 sixes in just 55 balls. Australia made 214/5. New Zealand gave the fight of their life with Scott Styris scoring 66 and McCullum scoring 36, took the Kiwis to 170. Ponting became the Man of the match in the very first T20 International ever. 3. Tillakaratne Dilshan (Sri Lanka) – 104* vs. Australia, Pallekele T Dilshan. (Photo Source: Associated Press) Australia travelled to Sri Lanka in 2011 and this was the first match of the T20 series. Sri Lanka was led by Tillakaratne Dilshan and he was asked to bat first by Aussie captain Cameron White. Dilshan led from the front with a brilliant 104* with support coming from Sangakkara and Mendis, both of whom gave the last minute impetus required by the team. Australia was left to chase 199 to win the match and despite a blasting 57 from Warner, none of the middle order batsmen did anything as Dilruwan Perera destroyed them with 3/26. Late innings 22s from Mitchell Johnson and Steven O’Keefe took Australia to 163 and they lost the match by 35 runs. Dilshan became the first captain to score a century in T20 Internationals and also took home the Man of the match award for his 12 four and 5 sixes, 57 ball 104*. 2. Faf du Plessis (South Africa) – 119 vs. West Indies, Johannessburg Faf du Plessis. (© GORDON HARNOLS/AFP/Getty Images) Faf du Plessis is the T20 captain of the Proteas and in this match against the West Indies, he led from the front, but his efforts couldn’t ensure victory for his team. Africa batted first after Windies put them in to bat. After losing their openers cheaply, Du Plessis and David Miller made sure that South Africa made a good score. Little did West Indies expect that South Africa will score a massive 231/7. Du Plessis scored 119 in 56 balls with 11 fours and 5 sixes. His 105 run partnership with Miller ensured South Africa got to a massive score. If Windies didn’t expect Africa to score 231, South Africa surely hadn’t expected the reply that Windies gave them. Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels went all guns blazing against the Proteas bowlers. Gayle scored 90 off 41 balls with 7 sixes and 9 fours and Samuels scored 60 in 39 balls. In the last overs, Darren Sammy’s 20 off 7 balls ensured that West Indies made a world record successful chase, scoring 236/6 and winning a match that seemed impossible to win. Chris Gayle got the man of the match for his whirlwind 90 and his contribution towards the win. 1. Shane Watson (Australia) – 124* vs. India, Sydney SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 31: Shane Watson of Australia celebrates his century during the International Twenty20 match between Australia and India at Sydney Cricket Ground on January 31, 2016 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images) Shane Watson came back into the Aussie team after a lengthy period of time and got to captain the side in the final T20I of the series, after regular captain Aaron Finch suffered an injury. He made the opportunity count to the maximum. Australia batted first and scored 197/5 in their 20 overs. Shane Watson remained not out for 124 runs in 71 balls with 10 fours and 6 sixes in his kitty. He got some support from Travis Head who scored 26 off 19, but Watson single handedly took Australia to a very big score. Watson had announced retirement from Test cricket in 2015 and was also battling with some injuries. But he had a pretty successful Big Bash League season and this made sure, that the selectors included him in the T20 series against India. He paid back with a well-deserved century as captain. All stats updated till 31st January 2016. Also Read: Top 10 Teams with most wins in T20Is