Top 5 scores by Indian players in T20 cricket

The shortest format of cricket, T20 has quickly become the most popular form of the game, beating ODI and Test match cricket. The reason why fans are attracted towards this format is that a T20 match does not last long like the other forms. Within three-four hours, the fans know which team has won the contest besides, even the players play more aggressively in the T20 arena.

The batsmen try to score as many runs as possible in the 20 overs while the bowlers aim to get the batsmen on the back-foot with their variations. With the advent of IPL, a lot of Indian players have achieved mastery in this format, and many players of the country have registered a century in this format.

The all-time highest score in T20 cricket is 175, registered by Chris Gayle but here is the list of the top 5 scores by Indian players in T20 cricket.

#5 Rishabh Pant | 128* (63)

The left-handed middle-order batsman from Delhi, Rishabh Pant, made a name for himself with his incredible batting performances in the IPL. Pant first grabbed everyone’s attention with his performances in the U-19 World Cup and the domestic matches.

He soon earned a contract from the Delhi-based IPL franchise. Pant took some time to get settled playing against the high-profile names of international cricket and in IPL 2018, he shattered the record of the highest individual score by an Indian player in the elite tournament.

Also see – IPL 2020 Players

Playing against the Sunrisers Hyderabad, Rishabh Pant played an unbeaten knock of 128 runs off just 63 deliveries which comprised 15 fours and 7 sixes. The youngster took the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddharth Kaul, and Rashid Khan to the cleaners during his epic innings. Unfortunately, Delhi lost that match by 9 wickets courtesy of Kane Williamson and Shikhar Dhawan’s brilliant partnership.

#4 Wriddhiman Saha | 129 (62)

Wriddhiman Saha was India's first-choice wicket-keeper in Test matches until the New Zealand Test series

Known as a Test match specialist, Wriddhiman Saha had showcased that he can bat well in the limited overs format as well during a match between Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy. Saha, who also has an IPL hundred to his name, opened the innings for Bengal in that match.

The wicket-keeper batsman showed no leniency to the opposition bowlers as he scored 129 runs off 63 deliveries to power his team to a score of 234/6 in 20 overs. Saha smashed 16 fours and 4 sixes in his innings and none of the Arunachal Pradesh bowlers had an economy rate of lesser than 9.00 in that innings. Bengal won that game by a margin of 107 runs.

#3 Manish Pandey | 129* (54)

Manish Pandey achieved this feat a few months ago

The first Indian player to score a hundred in the IPL, Manish Pandey, owns the third position on this list. Pandey played an unbeaten knock of 129 runs for his home state Karnataka in a group stage match of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2019-20. The eventual winners of the competition faced Services in that match and Pandey was the captain of the team.

Services won the toss and elected to field first. They dismissed Rohan Kadam early, which brought Pandey to the crease in the first over. The right-handed batsman took little time before launching an all-out assault against the opposition bowlers as he raced to a century whacking 12 fours and 10 sixes to finish with 129* off 53 deliveries. His heroics helped Karnataka to a win by 80 runs.

#2 Shreyas Iyer | 147 (55)

Shreyas Iyer could have become the first man to hit a double hundred in T20 cricket

India’s number 4 batsman in ODI cricket, Shreyas Iyer, could not cement his place in the team in the 2018-19 season. Hence, he was under pressure to perform well in the domestic tournaments and Iyer ensured that he gains the attention of the selectors with an unbelievable innings of 147 runs in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

Playing against Sikkim, Mumbai’s captain Ajinkya Rahane elected to bat first. However, Sikkim dismissed the team’s openers early as it looked like they would run away with the contest. But then Shreyas Iyer came out in the middle and changed the course of the match. He, along with Suryakumar Yadav, added over 213 runs for the third wicket as they took Mumbai’s score to 235 runs in 16 overs. Both the batsmen lost their wickets in the 17th over as Mumbai finished their innings at 258/4.

Iyer scored 147 runs off just 55 deliveries in that game. As three overs were still left in the innings when he lost his wicket, he could have easily completed his 150. The right-handed batsman smashed 7 fours and 15 sixes to guide his team to a 154-run win.

#1 Hardik Pandya | 158* (55)

Hardik Pandya registered this score in the DY Patil T20 Cup

Star Indian all-rounder, Hardik Pandya had been away from the cricket field for a long time because of his injury. He made his return recently in the DY Patil T20 Cup where he played for the Reliance 1 team. The Mumbai Indians star blew away the BPCL bowling attack as he smashed 158 runs off 55 deliveries to take his team to a score of 238 runs in 20 overs.

You can watch his innings of 158* (55) here.

Pandya struck 20 sixes in that knock and he broke Shreyas Iyer’s record for the highest individual score by an Indian player in T20s. He became the first Indian batsman to breach the 150 runs milestone in a single T20 innings with this knock. It will be interesting to see will any Indian player be able to break Pandya’s record.

Also read | 10 instances when an IPL century was scored in a losing cause