India will kick start their T20 World Cup 2022 campaign on Sunday against arch-rivals Pakistan. The two teams were involved in the final of the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup, back in 2007 with MS Dhoni’s men emerging victorious.
Pakistan didn’t have to wait too long for their first T20 world title, as Younis Khan led them to the trophy in 2009. However, since then, none of the two Asian giants won the title.
Coming to the Indian batsmen, who have been their strength in the shortest format and a big reason for them reaching a final (2014) and semi-final (2016), India boasts some of the most destructive death overs batters in the shortest format.
Here are the 5 Indian batsmen with the highest strike rate in T20Is (minimum 100 runs):
Suryakumar Yadav – 254
A late bloomer in international cricket, but Suryakumar Yadav took T20Is like a duck to water and is now India’s most in-form T20 batsman currently. That Suryakumar Yadav has an overall strike rate of 176 in T20Is is already astonishing; it then boosts up to a ridiculously staggering 254 in the death overs.
Suryakumar Yadav has walloped 14 sixes and 10 fours in the 8 times he’s batted in the slog overs in T20Is. His ability to hit boundaries from ball one makes him one of the most destructive, game-changing batsmen in the world.
Rohit Sharma – 205
While nowadays Rohit Sharma is seen batting much in the death overs – for he now plays an aggressive game which is a high-risk approach that sees him dismissed before the death overs begin. But the leading T20I run-scorer in the world, Rohit has in his T20I career batted 18 times in the last four overs where he’s hit 263 runs at a strike rate of 205 and averages 52 in this phase.
KL Rahul – 203
KL Rahul started his T20I career in the middle order before replacing Shikhar Dhawan at the top. So he’s batted 9 times in the death overs in T20Is so far where he’s hit 110 runs at a strike rate of 203 – this further highlights that KL Rahul gets dangerous as the game progresses and is blowing hot by the end of the innings.
Yuvraj Singh – 199
The only Indian to hit 6 sixes in international cricket, Yuvraj Singh, was India’s key man during the 2007 T20 World Cup triumph. Yuvraj became one of the most intimidating batsmen to bowl to in white-ball cricket, especially during the slog overs.
Yuvraj batted 21 times in the last 4 overs in T20Is, scoring 311 runs at a strike rate of a whopping 199. The left-hander whacked 31 sixes in this phase of the game.
Virat Kohli – 195
Arguably the greatest T20I batsman, Virat Kohli is currently the second-leading T20I scorer in the world, only 25 runs behind Rohit Sharma, but Kohli’s average of 50 is much higher than Sharma’s 31.
Kohli is unarguably the greatest T20I chaser when it comes to top-order batters, and this meant that he was often finishing games in the death overs. Having settled himself in first, Kohli unleashed his array of strokes to find gaps and uses his power to hit sixes.
In his 101-innings T20I career so far, Kohli has batted in the death overs a significant 38 times, scoring 665 runs at a strike rate of 195 and averaging 44 in this period of play.
