As Suryakumar Yadav’s second century of the year pushed him closer to the coveted world record of most T20I runs in a calendar year, Abhishek Mukherjee looks at other great peaks in the history of the format.
After the hundred at Mount Maunganui, Suryakumar Yadav stretched his run in 2022 to 1,151 runs at a strike rate of 188 in T20Is. He is still 175 behind Mohammad Rizwan’s world record of 1,326 in 2021, but Rizwan had scored at 135 – and faced 372 more balls. In the IPL, Surya added 303 runs at an average of 43 and a strike rate of 145. There is little doubt over his current run being among the greatest peaks in the history of the format.
But where does this peak compare to the other great streaks in the history of Twenty20 cricket? The word ‘peak’ can be vague. Given the franchise-dependent nature of the format, it is also unfair to determine peaks based solely on international cricket. Many Twenty20 greats have been roving cricketers who have played significantly more in franchise-run tournaments than T20Is. Chris Gayle, for example, has played only 79 times for the West Indies in a Twenty20 career spanning 463 matches. AB de Villiers, an undoubted titan of the format, averaged a mere 26 for South Africa in T20Is.
For this exercise, thus, the methodology is subjective. These peaks can be in or across seasons and tournaments, international or otherwise. Batters who score quickly have been preferred, particularly for the more recent peaks.
Ian Harvey, 2003-06, Twenty20 Cup (892 runs at 175)
Warwickshire set Gloucestershire only 135 in the first year of the Twenty20 Cup, in 2003. It was not a big target, but there was ample time for Harvey to enter the history books: his 50-ball 100 not out was the first hundred in the history of the format. Harvey scored a hundred in each of the first three seasons of the tournament. After four seasons – for Gloucestershire and Yorkshire – his aggregate stood at 892 runs at a strike rate of 175 (and an average of 42.48).
Harvey finished with a Twenty20 strike rate of 156 in an era when most teams and cricketers were figuring out Twenty20 cricket. His numbers would have been outstanding even today.
Imran Nazir, Pakistan National T20 Cup, 2005/06-09/10 (778 runs at 178)
This is a bit complicated. Between 2005/06 and 2009/10, the Sialkot Stallions won the Pakistan National T20 Cup five times on the trot, between 2005/06 and 2009/10. This included a run of 25 consecutive wins – a world record that still stands. Nazir played 50 times for the Stallions, amassing 1,356 runs at a strike rate of 160. During that 25-match run, his 778 runs came at 178. Given the era, these are incredible numbers.
Chris Gayle, all Twenty20, 2011-13 (3,003 runs at 164) and 2015 (1,665 runs at 165)
Gayle’s 14,562 runs (at 145), 22 hundreds, 110 fifty-plus scores, 1,132 fours, and 1,056 sixes are all world records, some of them by absurd margins, but 2011 to 2013 were phenomenal even by his standards. Across the three years, he scored 3,003 runs (21 percent of his career aggregate) at a strike rate of 164. A whopping 1,341 of these came in the two Orange-Cap-winning IPL seasons, at 170, for the Royal Challengers Bangalore.
He slowed down a bit in 2013, but that was the year when he got that 175 not out – a world record that still stands. Then, in 2015, his 1,665 runs came at 165 – still a world record for a calendar year with a 1,500-run cut-off. He even averaged 59.46.
AB de Villiers, IPL, 2012-16 (2,274 runs at 166) and all Twenty20, 2019 (1,580 runs at 157)
Gayle’s peak for Bangalore was probably higher, but de Villiers’s lasted longer. He did not merely strike at 166 across five seasons: he crossed that 160-mark in each of the five seasons. Interestingly, his strike rate outside the IPL over the same period dipped to 143 (almost human by his standards), and his 2,274 runs across this phase amounted to 66 percent of his career runs.
Like Gayle, de Villiers peaked a second time – in 2019. Across 43 innings in five leagues, his 1,580 runs came at 157, and an average of 52.66.
Aaron Finch, T20 Internationals, 2013-19 (1,693 runs at 159)
Given his recent form, it is virtually impossible to recall the era when Finch used to be among the most-feared batters in T20 Internationals. Yet, starting with his 63-ball 156 against England in 2013, he embarked upon one of the greatest runs in history, scoring 1,693 runs at 159. He even improved on that 156 with a 172, against Zimbabwe.
Glenn Maxwell, all Twenty20, 2014 (1,123 runs at 170)
In 2014, Maxwell’s pyrotechnics (552 runs at 188) took Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) to the IPL semi-final for the only time since 2008. He was not merely hitting out: he reached 89 four times despite never shying from taking risks. Punjab even made it to the final, which earned him the affectionate moniker of Glendeep Singh from grateful fans. So phenomenal was his performance that his numbers for the rest of the year – 571 runs at 155 – seem almost normal.
Luke Wright, Twenty20 Cup/Blast, 2014-15 (1,165 runs at 167)
One of the early stars of the format, Wright peaked roughly when England were trying to rebuild their limited-overs sides. Across the two seasons, Wright slammed 1,165 runs at 167, but they did not amount to any silverware for Sussex. Yet, over the same two years, he never got going outside England. Perhaps that was why the England recall never came.
Virat Kohli, all Twenty20, 2016 (1,614 runs at 147)
Kohli’s 1,614 runs in 2016 are the most by an Indian in a calendar year. It was the year when he was named Player of the Tournament at the Twenty20 World Cup, and set an IPL record of 973 runs (while scoring at 152) that still stands. What is not as well-known is the fact that he was also at his quickest (147) this year.
Colin Munro, T20 Internationals, 2017-18 (775 runs at 175)
Munro’s T20I strike rate of 156 is the highest with a 1,500-run cut-off, and is considerably higher than his 137 in other Twenty20 matches. But even that pales in comparison when pitted against his 18-innings golden run between March 2017 and November 2018, where he scored 775 runs at 175. Over this period, he smashed three hundreds, all of them at 55 or fewer balls, and five other fifties. What happened to him?
Andre Russell, all Twenty20, 2019 (1,080 runs at 182)
Russell’s IPL exploits in 2019 (510 runs at 205) remain one of the most destructive displays of hitting in the history of the tournament. But Russell had a great year even outside the IPL. In fact, with a 1,000-run cut-off, his strike rate of 182 remains a world record for a calendar year. The bowling and fielding were add-ons.
Alex Hales, BBL, 2019/20-2021/22 (1,502 runs at 153)
Hales’ recall to the England side for the 2022 T20 World Cup was based largely on his incredible run in the BBL. Across the three seasons before the World Cup, he made 1,502 runs at 153 for Sydney Thunder in the same venues in which the tournament was played. No wonder he got 300 runs at 147 from nine T20Is in the same nation this year.
Jos Buttler, all Twenty20, 2022 (1,570 runs at 152 – ongoing)
As they say, 2022 is Buttler’s year – and we are living in it. At one point, he threatened to set a new record for most runs in a single IPL season (he still struck at 149); he lifted that strike rate to 157 in the English summer, and played several key innings en route to lifting the T20 World Cup as captain.
Bonus mentions
Rilee Rossouw’s strike rates over the last five calendar years read 139, 143, 145, 157, and – at the time of writing in 2022 – 176. There is no peak if one goes by the usual definition – think a mountain. Perhaps we shall return to him once he goes on a decline.
Tim David’s location-agnostic career perhaps deserves a mention as well. At this point, he strikes at 163 in Twenty20 cricket, which includes 159 in internationals and a minimum of 154 in every major league barring the CPL – and even there the number reads 170.
