The Greatest T20 International Innings of All Time

Chris Gayle's 175 Not Out (2013, BBL — Remembered in T20Is)

While many of the most destructive T20 innings have been in T20 leagues (IPL, BBL), the T20 International stage has produced its own defining performances. Chris Gayle's impact on T20 batting was global: his 175 not out for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL (not a T20I, but establishing his template) set the parameters for what was possible — 66 balls, 17 sixes, strike rate 265.15. In T20 Internationals, Gayle scored 1,627 runs at a strike rate of 142 for West Indies, including the 2012 T20 WC opening over where he hit England's spinner for 3 consecutive sixes, beginning the Windies' tournament.

Glenn Maxwell's Unbeaten 145 (2022 T20 WC, vs Afghanistan)

Glenn Maxwell's 145 not out against Afghanistan at the 2022 T20 World Cup in Melbourne may be the single greatest match-saving T20 International innings ever played. Australia were 5 for 91 — effectively 5 for 91 against spin bowling on a slow pitch. Maxwell came in and scored 145 off 65 balls (including 10 sixes and 10 fours) while severely hampered by back spasms and leg cramps that required on-field treatment multiple times. He batted through the final overs barely able to run — but hit sixes standing still. Australia won by 3 wickets. The physical conditions under which he produced the innings placed it in a category of athletic achievement beyond mere statistics.

Virat Kohli's 82 Not Out (2014 T20 WC Final, vs Pakistan)

Individual innings are not just about run tallies — they are about match context. Virat Kohli's 82 not out off 51 balls in the 2014 T20 World Cup semi-final against Pakistan (chasing 130 in Dhaka) was the innings that defined his T20 International career in the tournament. India needed 77 off the last 7 overs with 6 wickets down. Kohli batted through the pressure, found scoring opportunities off every spinner, and finished the match with India winning by 8 wickets. The clarity of his decision-making, the absence of any risk-taking for its own sake, and the match context — a World Cup knockout against the bitterest rivals — elevated it above more impressive statistical performances.

Rohit Sharma's Back-to-Back T20I Hundreds

Rohit Sharma holds the record for most hundreds in T20 International cricket — four centuries, including back-to-back hundreds against Sri Lanka in 2017 (111 off 61 balls) and South Africa. What makes Rohit's T20I centuries remarkable is the format's difficulty: scoring 100 in a T20 innings means maintaining a strike rate above 130 for a full fifty-ball innings, which requires both power and precision across a much longer concentration period than most T20 batsmen sustain. His 2017 century against Sri Lanka in Indore included 12 fours and 3 sixes — a technically excellent innings rather than an all-or-nothing assault.

Brendon McCullum's 58* (2007, First T20I India vs South Africa)

The first T20 International was played in 2005 between Australia and New Zealand. But the 2007 inaugural World Twenty20 produced the format's first genuinely defining innings at the global stage: Brendon McCullum's 58 not out from 26 balls for New Zealand in the tournament opener against South Africa, establishing the template for T20 batting excellence — improvisation, power, and the willingness to play for the required result rather than personal accumulation. McCullum went on to score 123 T20I innings, averaging 35 at a strike rate of 136, and his attacking philosophy influenced every captain he subsequently worked under or managed as a batting coach and later national coach.