5 best Indian batting performances in World T20s

The T20 cricket has always been ruled by batsmen and they seldom leave a chance for the bowlers to dominate. Especially, the Indian batsmen have given good performances in the shortest format which has raised the standards of the cricket.India will be the favourites in the upcoming World T20 and they will a lot depend on the batsmen. Putting a big target on the board or chasing the same, batsmen will be at the centre stage of this big event. Now that we are just a couple of days from the start of the tournament, let’s take a look at five of the best batting performances from Indian players in previous versions of the ICC World T20.

#5 Gautam Gambhir 75 (54) vs Pakistan, 2007

Gautam Gambhir, the man for the finals, played an important knock in a nail-biting contest in the final of the inaugural T20 World Cup. He kept the scoreboard ticking when wickets were falling on the other side and helped to set a defendable target against Pakistan.

Gambhir scored 75 at the strike rate of 138 with 8 fours and 2 sixes. The significance of his innings lies in the fact that he was the only player to score a half-century in the high-octane clash. India won the match by 5 runs and Irfan Pathan won Man of the match award instead of equally deserving Gambhir.

#4 Suresh Raina 101 (60) vs South Africa, 2010

Suresh Raina can be called more of a T20 specialist and he proved this against South Africa in the third World T20, 2010. India were on 32 for 2 wickets and needed a big partnership to put a big target on the scoreboard.

Raina came into play and changed the course of the game towards India, sharing an important partnership of 88 runs with Yuvraj Singh. He scored a fabulous century, only third century in the T20Is and first by an Indian player, including 9 fours and 5 sixes.

India ended up winning the match by 14 runs and Raina was named man of the match.

#3 Virat Kohli 72 (44) vs South Africa, 2014

Virat Kohli has been the champion of chasing and he proved this against South Africa in the semi-final of the World T20, 2014. South Africa set a target of 173 which seemed difficult considering the required rate of almost 9 rpo.

Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane couldn’t extend their quickfire innings to the big scores, but Kohli stuck to the other end and made useful partnerships with Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina. In the end, India won by 6 wickets with one and a half over left. Kohli struck 72 runs at a terrific strike rate of 163.63 which included 5 fours and 2 sixes. He was also named the man of the match for his innings.

#2 Yuvraj Singh 70 (30) vs Australia, 2007

When Yuvraj Singh is in form, he doesn’t care about who the opposition is. Australia experienced this in the semi-final of World T20, 2007.

India lost the opening pair with only 41 on the scoreboard and needed a big partnership to put a formidable score on the board. Yuvraj didn’t take much pressure of the first two wickets and straightaway started attacking the Australian bowlers. The likes of Nathan Bracken and Stuart Clarke were smashed all around the ground.

Yuvi finished his inning with 70 runs in only 30 balls including 5 fours and 5 sixes. As a result, India could post a huge target of 189 to win the match by 15 runs.

#1 Yuvraj Singh 58 (16) vs England, 2007

Yuvraj Singh made a history on 19th September 2007 by hitting six sixes in an over against England in the inaugural T20 World Cup. All started when Andrew Flintoff tried to sledge Yuvi in the previous over which invited a big storm at Kingsmead. The leather was belted in all the corners by the left-hander, who broke many records in a single over.

Yuvraj was playing on 14 in 6 balls and after that over, he rushed to 50 in 12 balls. This turned out to be the fastest fifty in all formats and Stuart Broad, the front-line bowler of England, experienced the nightmare of this thunderous innings.

Eventually, India set a big target of 219 and won the match only by 18 runs which suggests the significance of Yuvi’s inning. He carried this amazing form over the entire series and helped India to win the first ever T20 World Cup.