10 innings with highest batting strike rate in T20Is

Cricket has become more popular with the inception of T20 cricket, mainly 2007 T20 World Cup and the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008. The 2007 T20 World Cup held a lot of potential, and the experts understood that the game would never be the same again. It’s been more than a decade, and the game has undoubtedly evolved from a one-day activity to a three-hour spectacle. The Indian Premier League has grown to become the world’s most popular cricket league. Apart from the ones who can hit the textbook shots, the teams are now on the lookout for power-hitters. The strike rate, not the averages or the number of runs, is the most important factor. Players who can turn the game around in a few overs are essential in a format like T20. And it’s for this reason that strike rates are the most important factor to consider when selecting a T20 player. Here 10 such match-defining innings with the highest strike rate (minimum 10 balls): 10. Quinton De Kock (65 runs off 22 balls vs England) Quinton de Kock. (Photo By Seb Daly/Sportsfile via Getty Images) Currently one of the best keeper batsmen in world cricket and South Africa’s best batsman, Quinton de Kock is bound to have a great career ahead and may end up being the greatest Proteas batsman ever produced. Chasing 205 on a flat Durban wicket against England, De Kock decided to attack the opposition from ball one and scored 65 runs off 22 balls with a strike rate of 295.45 including 2 fours and 8 sixes. At one point, it seemed like South Africa would chase down the total with 4-5 overs to spare. But once he got out, England came back into the game and won a thriller by a mere margin of 2 runs. If South Africa has any chance in the T20 World Cup, Quinton de Kock has to fire at the top being the best and the senior-most batsman in the South African lineup. 9. Chris Jordan (27* runs off 9 balls vs West Indies) Chris Jordan. (Photo Source: Getty Images) A T20 specialist, Chris Jordan was brought into the England side for his ability to bowl yorkers at will in the death overs and slog a few at the end if needed. He did exactly what he was brought for against West Indies at Bridgetown in 2014. He played a cameo of 27 runs off 9 balls with a strike rate of 300 including 4 sixes. He also ended up taking 3 wickets for 39 runs – a bit expensive at the end but overall was a fantastic performance from him which was ultimately the difference between the 2 teams on that day as England won by 5 runs. He was awarded the man of the match. With a very strong English batting line-up, if Jordan continues to deliver his yorkers at the death, England may turn out to be invincible in this year’s T20 WC. 8. Abdul Razzaq (34* runs off 11 balls vs New Zealand) Abdul Razzaq. (Photo Source: Getty Images) One of the best all-rounders Pakistan has ever produced, Abdul Razzaq was a treat to watch at the end of the innings with the bat, clearing the straight boundary with ease and with the ball, bowling reverse swing to batsmen. A decade ago in 2010, he displayed a dream performance by scoring 34* runs off 11 balls against New Zealand at Christchurch at a strike rate of 309.09 including three fours and three sixes. He also had fabulous bowling figures taking 3/13 in 4 overs at an economy of 3.25 runs per over. Pakistan won that match by 103 runs and he was awarded the Player of the Match. 7. Dwayne Bravo (35* runs off 11 balls vs New Zealand) Dwayne Bravo. (Photo Source: Getty Images) The “Champion” as he is popularly called by his fans, DJ Bravo displayed a champion performance against New Zealand in 2012 at Lauderhill. He scored 35* runs off 11 balls at a strike rate of 318.18 including one fours and four sixes. In addition to this, he also ended with bowling figures of 2-23 in 2.4 overs. He was awarded the Player of the Match for this performance. He has been one the few all-rounders in the world who have consistently performed with the bat as well as the ball. The 37-year-old Trinidadian is still going strong and is looking to end his career on a high with West Indies retaining the T20 World Cup held in UAE this year. 6. Jos Buttler (32* runs off 10 balls against South Africa) Jos Buttler. (Photo Source: Twitter) One of the best white-ball players in the world and a batsman who can open as well as be the finisher of the innings, Jos Buttler is an asset and an automatic selection to any team in the world. This knock was played way back in 2012 against South Africa in Birmingham when Buttler burst onto the international scene by consistent performances at the domestic level. He scored 32 runs off 10 balls with a strike rate of 320 including two fours and 3 sixes. This knock proved to be the turning point as the match was reduced to 11 overs per side and England’s score of 118 was just too much for South Africa to chase. He was awarded the Player of the Match for this knock. Nowadays, he opens the innings for England in T20Is and an in-form Buttler will double the chances of England winning their 2nd T20 WC. 5. Carlos Brathwaite (34* runs of 10 balls vs England) Carlos Brathwaite. (Photo by Gareth Copley-ICC/ICC via Getty Images) Remember Ian Bishop’s iconic commentary after West Indies won the T20 WC 2016- “Carlos Brathwaite, Carlos Brathwaite, remember the name.” Exactly these words came out of the mouth of Bishop after Carlos Brathwaite’s best T20I knock in the final of the ICC WC 2016 against England in Kolkata. 19 runs were required in the last over for the West Indies to clinch their second T20 WC title. Brathwaite easily cleared the massive boundaries of Eden Gardens, four balls in a row against the bowling of Ben Stokes and became a hero within 5 minutes. He is yet to show his full potential at the international level and once he does that, this West Indian all-rounder can be as dangerous and valuable as the likes of Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard. 4. Kieron Pollard (38 runs off 11 balls vs Sri Lanka) Kieron Pollard of West Indies. (Photo by RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images) If the list is of batsmen having played an innings with the highest strike rate, a name with which this list can’t be completed is Kieron Pollard. He is one of the best six-hitters the world has ever seen. He showed his exploits against Sri Lanka in Coolridge, scoring a quickfire 38 off 11 balls at a strike rate of 345.45 including six sixes in a single over of the Akila Dhananjaya – one of the best Sri Lankan spinner at the moment. However, Kieron Pollard just decimated him with his brute strength. The West Indies captain will look to continue his form in the IPL as well as the T20 WC this year, both being held in the UAE. 3. Moeen Ali (39 runs off 11 balls vs South Africa) Moeen Ali of England celebrates reaching his century. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images) A very talented player who hasn’t got enough chances at spots where he can prove himself with the bat or overs with the ball due to an extremely strong English white-ball set-up, probably the strongest England have ever had. Moeen Ali was blazing all guns out in this match-winning cameo of 39 runs off 11 balls with a strike rate of 354.54 including three fours and four sixes against South Africa at Kingsmead in Durban which propelled England’s score to 205. He can be used as a pinch-hitter in the upcoming T20 WC in the UAE as he is a good player of spin, which English players generally aren’t and can also clear the ropes easily. He can even bowl his line-to-line off-spin and be a great asset in England’s WC campaign this year. 2. Colin Munro (50* runs off 14 balls vs Sri Lanka) Colin Munro of New Zealand. (Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images) Colin Munro‘s international records speak for themselves as he has scored 1724 runs at a strike rate of 156.44. He also has the most T20I hundreds (3) after Rohit Sharma (4). All these records are a testimony of how good a player he is. He, along with Martin Guptill, smashed the Sri Lankan attack left right and center. He scored 50 off 14 balls with a strike rate of 357.14 including a solitary four and seven sixes. New Zealand were set a target of 142 by the Lankans at Eden Park in Auckland, but the Kiwis were in a mood to go home early and so finished the match in 10 overs itself. This was the 2nd fastest fifty in T20Is. After this innings, Munro was talked about in the international circuit and was regarded as a player who could turn the match on its head within a span of a few overs. Now, he is one of the best T20I players in the world. 1. Yuvraj Singh (58 runs off 16 balls vs England) Yuvraj Singh – 2011 WC against West Indies. (Photo by PRAKASH SINGH/AFP via Getty Images) Who can forget this innings from one of India’s best players ever, Yuvraj Singh? He struck six sixes in an over against Stuart Broad after being pumped up from a fight with the English all-rounder, Andrew Flintoff. India went on to win the ICC T20 WC 2007. Yuvraj smashed Broad to all parts of Kingsmead, Durban quite easily. He not only smashed six sixes in an over but also recorded the fastest ever T20 half-century in T20 cricket (12 balls). He scored 58 runs in that innings off just 16 balls at a strike rate of 362.50 with three fours and seven sixes. The record still holds. He is regarded as one of the best middle-order batsmen India has ever had. He was the Player of the Tournament in the ICC T20 WC 2007 and ICC WC 2011, playing an instrumental role in India’s victories.

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10 innings with highest batting strike rate in T20Is

Here are 10 match-defining innings with the highest strike rate (minimum 10 balls).

8. Abdul Razzaq (34* runs off 11 balls vs New Zealand)

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