There are some knocks in T20I cricket which leave an imprint on the minds of the fans for a long time. Many of such are expected from the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 will start on Sunday, 2 June with the first match to be played between the United States of America and Canada of Group A. (More Cricket News)
Every edition of the T20 World Cup saw many players hitting tons for their respective teams but only a few get the recognition of being a top-notch inning considering the conditions, the situation of the knock and many other factors.
Here are the five best knocks from the nine editions of the T20 World Cups so far:
1. Brendon McCullum (123 Runs Off 58 Balls, NZ vs BAN on 21 Sep 2012)
New Zealand's destructive batter Brendon McCullum came one down to bat against Bangladesh in the ICC T20 World Cup 2012 Group D match in Pallekele and smashed his second T20I century. He was dismissed on the last delivery of the Kiwi innings but before that, he has already made 123 off 58 balls including 11 fours and seven sixes.
His rocket knock helped New Zealand set a 192-run target for the Bangla Tigers. They restricted Bangladesh to 132/8 to win the match by 59 runs. That inning of McCullum remains at the top of the list.
2. Chris Gayle (117 Runs off 57 Balls, WI vs SA on 11 Sep 2007)
It was T20I's first hundred and that too came in the first match of the ICC T20 World Cup 2007. South Africa invited West Indies to bat first and opener batter Chris Gayle bamboozled the Proteas' bowling lineup with his batting fireworks.
He hit 10 sixes and seven fours in his 117-run knock in just 57 balls to take his team's total to 205/6. It was Herschelle Gibbs and Justin Kemp's fighting knock that helped SA win the match with 14 balls and eight wickets to spare. But the first T20I century comes in second position in the list.
3. Alex Hales (116* Runs off Balls, ENG vs SL on 27 Mar 2014)
Chasing a 190-run target set by Sri Lanka, the English opener batter Alex Hales went berserk and made a 64-ball 116 not out to help England win the match by six wickets with four balls to spare in the T20 World Cup in 2014 in Chattogram.
He added 150 runs for the third wicket with Eoin Morgon, who also made a 38-ball 57. It was Hales' first and only T20I ton to date. He hit 11 fours and six sixes and made runs with a strike rate of 181.25
4. Suresh Raina (101 Runs off 60 Balls, IND vs SA on 02 May 2010)
India's first T20I century was hit by Suresh Raina and it came against South Africa in the 2010 T20 World Cup. Batting first, India made 186 runs at Gros Islet in the Caribbean.
Suresh Raina hit nine fours and five sixes with a strike rate of 168.33. India restricted SA to 172/5 after 20 overs to win the match by 14 runs. That fighting knock from Raina comes at number four in the best T20 World Cup knock list.
5. Rilee Rossouw (109 Runs off 56 Balls, SA vs BAN on 27 Oct 2022)
South Africa's Rilee Rossouw played a 56-ball 109 against Bangladesh in the last T20 World Cup. He made 109 runs in just 56 runs including seven fours and eight sixes. Coming at number 3 to bat, the left-handed batter was dismissed in the 19th over.
In response, SA restricted Bangladesh to 101/10 all out and won the match by 104 runs. That inning of Rossouw is very underrated and hence it comes in the fifth spot on the list.
