Flashback: The only current batsman to score 300-plus runs in a T20 World Cup
Cricket fans must have marked their calendars with the high-voltage T20 World Cup 2021 being less than a month away. This will be the seventh edition of the global edition and expectations are sky-high. After all, T20 matches have been dominating cricket calendars for the past few years. Several teams even have their set of T20 specialists. Hence, it will be interesting to see how the tournament pans out.
Team India is certainly one of the favourites to lift the prestigious title with the side having no shortage of T20 stars. While there are many dashers in the team, not many will possess a greater threat than skipper Virat Kohli. Hailed as the run-machine, Kohli has played numerous memorable knocks across all formats. Although he might not have a reputation as a power hitter, the Indian captain is nothing but a force to reckon with in the shortest international format.
Virat Kohli’s astounding record in T20 World Cup
His T20I numbers also speak volumes of his prowess. Kohli has scored over 3000 runs in the format with his average being over 50 and strike rate touching 140. He’s also well versed with the drill of the T20 World Cup. Kohli featured in the last three editions of the competition and did some significant talking with the bat. In 16 appearances in the T20 World Cup, the right-handed batter slammed 777 runs at an astonishing average of 86.33.
In fact, Kohli is the only active cricketer to score over 300 runs in a single T20 World Cup edition. During the 2014 competition in Bangladesh, Kohli slammed 319 runs in six innings, most for any batter in a single T20 World Cup. Former Sri Lankan batters Tillakaratne Dilshan (317) and Mahela Jayawardene (302) are the only others to score over 300 runs in a single edition. With the duo being retired, Kohli is the only current cricketer with the feat.
Among active players, Bangladesh’s Tamim Iqbal is second on this list after Kohli, having mustered 295 runs in the 2016 edition in India. Meanwhile, several batters would be determined to overtake Kohli’s tally in this year’s T20 World Cup, which gets underway on October 17. The matches will be played in the UAE and Oman.
