The Greatest T20 Innings of All Time: Shots That Changed Cricket

T20 Cricket's Defining Batting Moments

T20 cricket has compressed cricket's drama into its most intense form — 20 overs per side, every ball potentially match-defining. The format has produced batting performances that would have seemed impossible before 2003: scores of 175 by a single batsman, innings constructed almost entirely of boundaries, 36 runs off one over. These innings didn't just entertain — they taught batsmen what was possible, raised expectations across the sport, and fundamentally changed how cricket is played at all levels.

Yuvraj Singh: Six Sixes in an Over (2007)

The first T20 World Cup produced T20's most famous moment. Stuart Broad, bowling for England against India in Durban, was hit for six sixes in a single over by Yuvraj Singh — six balls, six maximums, 36 runs. Broad's first ball was swept over square leg. The second cleared long on. Each successive delivery was dispatched with increasing contempt. The over took Yuvraj to 50 in 12 balls. Only the fourth ball lacked authority — a top edge that just cleared the rope. The remaining two were clean, brutal hits. The performance defined Yuvraj's legacy as a T20 match-winner of the highest order.

Chris Gayle: 175* (2013 IPL)

Against Pune Warriors India for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Chris Gayle made 175* off 66 balls — the highest individual score in T20 cricket. He hit 17 sixes and 13 fours, reaching 100 in just 30 balls. The innings began relatively quietly before exploding in the middle and final overs into something unprecedented. Gayle's power hitting redefined what a T20 century meant — not a patient accumulation of runs but an assault on the scoring record itself. The innings included a period where he scored 64 runs in 12 balls, a rate that suggests not cricket but a different sport entirely.

AB de Villiers: 149* off 44 Balls (2015)

South Africa needed quick runs against West Indies in an ODI at Johannesburg, and AB de Villiers provided what remains one of the most breathtaking displays of batting innovation ever witnessed. He hit 16 sixes and 9 fours, reaching his century in 31 balls — the fastest ODI hundred in history at the time. His 149* came off 44 balls with a strike rate of 338. What made it extraordinary wasn't just the power but the variety: ramps over the wicketkeeper, scoops over fine leg, conventional drives to the boundary, and improvised shots that had no names. De Villiers hit areas that fielders couldn't cover because the shots had never been attempted before.

Mahela Jayawardene: 100 off 48 Balls (2014 T20 WC Final)

In the World T20 final at Mirpur, Sri Lanka chased India's 130/4 with their captain Jayawardene playing the innings of his career. Batting with composure as wickets fell around him, Jayawardene's 50 came in 31 balls and his hundred off 48 — making it the fastest T20 World Cup final century. Sri Lanka won their first T20 World Cup title with an over to spare. The innings carried the weight of a career's worth of near-misses in ICC finals — Jayawardene had been on the losing side in two previous World Cup finals. This was his moment, delivered with the precision of a craftsman.

Jos Buttler's IPL Dominance

Jos Buttler's 2022 IPL season for Rajasthan Royals produced consistent match-winning innings across 17 matches — 863 runs including four centuries, the most in a single IPL season. His 106 off 50 against Delhi Capitals in the final was the pinnacle: a patient start followed by an explosive second half that took the chase from impossible to inevitable. Buttler's T20 technique combines classical batting with helicopter shots, ramps, and reverse sweeps in a seamless whole. His 2022 campaign transformed how teams approach IPL auctions, recognising that an in-form opening batsman of his quality can win tournaments almost single-handedly.