Wisden’s top men’s T20I innings of 2023, No.5-No.2

Wisden’s men’s T20I innings of 2023, No.5: Shubman Gill – 126 (63)*

India v New Zealand, 3rd T20I
Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, February 1

Having started 2023 on a sublime note, Gill answered question marks over his T20 calibre emphatically in Ahmedabad. Before the third T20I against New Zealand, Gill averaged 15.2 from five T20Is, striking at 128. In Ahmedabad, however, an entirely different version of him surfaced. Batting first on a true wicket, Gill started off with a boundary each in the first two overs to get things going. He broke free in the fifth over, hitting Blair Tickner for three fours.

Shubman Gill in T20I cricket:
At Narendra Modi stadium: 126 runs in 63 balls (SR 200).
At all other venues: 86 runs in 77 balls (SR 112).

Contrasting numbers.#ShubmanGill #India #WIvsIND #Cricket #T20Is pic.twitter.com/PALHuXFGWP

— Wisden India (@WisdenIndia) August 7, 2023

Gill reached his fifty off 35 balls, Batting at 53 off 38 after 13 overs, Gill pressed hard on the accelerator to score 73 runs off the next 25 balls he faced, striking at a scarcely believable 292 in the last seven overs of the innings. Having not hit a single six in the first 13 overs, Gill finished the innings with seven sixes, unbeaten on 126 – the highest individual score in men’s T20Is by any Indian batter.

Wisden’s men’s T20I innings of 2023, No.4: Mark Chapman – 104 (57)*

New Zealand v Pakistan, 5th T20I
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, April 24

Chasing 194 in the fifth match of the series, New Zealand had the worst possible start, losing two wickets in the first over to Shaheen Afridi. The third fell in fourth over with the score reading 26, bringing Chapman to the crease. To say that he had a tough start would be an understatement. Facing heat from Ihsanullah, Chapman played out a maiden in the fifth over, only getting off the mark on the seventh delivery he faced.

As soon as spin came on, Chapman changed gears, launching Shadab Khan for a six and a four immediately after the powerplay. After 10 overs, New Zealand needed 121 runs with six wickets in hand with Chapman batting on 33 off 24. Jimmy Neesham and Chapman then went on a rampage that shook Pakistan. 14, 17, 16, 12, 18 – this is what the next five overs produced.

Chapman reached his fifty off 30 balls in the 12th over. By the end of the 16th over, they had brought the equation down to 36 off 24. The18th over started with Chapman batting on 84. By the end of it, he had reached his hundred, his first in the format as New Zealand finished off the chase with four balls to spare after having looked down and out at the half-way stage.

Wisden’s men’s T20I innings of 2023, No.3: Phil Salt – 119 (57)

England v West Indies, 4th T20I
Brian Lara Stadium, Trinidad, December 19

Having received a surprising snub in the IPL 2024 auction despite performing well in IPL 2023 and despite showing recent form by scoring a hundred three days ahead of the auction, Salt took it to heart and the West Indian bowlers bore the brunt of it.

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Batting first in Trinidad, Salt hit a six and a four in the first over of the innings to make his intentions clear. A four and two sixes in the fifth saw England reach 58-0 after the first five overs and Salt reach 31 off 14. He reached his fifty in the eighth over and with Jos Buttler also bludgeoning the hosts all around the park, England reached 100 in the ninth.

Salt’s three consecutive sixes off Sherfane Rutherford off the first three balls of the 11th over raised hopes of six-in-six. That didn’t happen, but he did hit three more over the course of his knock to finish with as many as 10 sixes. His 100 came off 48 balls in the 15th over, bettering the 51-ball ton he had hit in just the previous game. Salt was dismissed in the 19th over, having added 19 more runs after his hundred, propelling England to the second highest team total in a men’s T20I between full member nations.

Wisden’s men’s T20I innings of 2023, No.2: Johnson Charles – 118 (46)

West Indies v South Africa, 2nd T20I
SuperSport Park, Centurion, March 26

Having made his T20I debut in 2011, Charles’ career never took off. After 25 games, his average read 19.70. When he came out to bat at No.3 in the 2nd T20I against South Africa, his T20I average and strike rate read 22.44 and 122.73. There was nothing in his numbers that suggested he could do what he was about to.

Charles hit two of the first three balls he faced for fours to get going. Batting on 24 off 13 after four overs, the inflection point came in the fifth over bowled by Marco Jansen. Two sixes and two fours saw Charles reach 44 off 19 balls. The fifty came off 23 balls when he smashed Tabraiz Shamsi over square leg for six.

After eight overs, West Indies were 97-1. Charles took another 20 runs off the next over as the scoreboard read a scary 137-1 after 10 overs for the visitors. In a brazen display of hitting, Charles reached his ton off just 41 balls, beating the West Indian record held by Chris Gayle by a whopping eight deliveries.

It was a shame that he was dismissed in the very next over for 118 off 46 balls. Having hit 10 fours and 11 sixes inside the first 14 overs, sky was the limit for him that evening had he stayed on till the end. West Indies finished on 258-5 from their 20 overs, and were, wait for it, beaten with seven deliveries and six wickets to spare.