Chasing in T20 cricket is not an easy job. You have to keep the momentum going all the time. Even a couple of quiet overs at any stage of the innings can get the required run rate climbing high.
And while you are trying to maintain a good tempo in a T20 chase, you also have to make sure you don’t lose your wicket. So, to have that fine balance under pressure makes it that much of a tougher job.
Here are the 5 batsmen with the highest average while chasing in T20 internationals –
#1 Virat Kohli (average- 82.15):
To have an average of over 80 while chasing and that too in the shortest form of the game, it’s insane and unheard of, but the Indian captain Virat Kohli averages 82.15 in T20I chases.
What’s most impressive is the fact that Virat bats at no. 3, but still plays the role of a finisher. He doesn’t throw his wicket away after setting a platform. He makes sure he bats right till the very end and stays unbeaten when the game ends.
#2 MS Dhoni (average-47.71):
MS Dhoni is a finisher and often bats at no. 6, so he remains not out most of the time and that gets his average high. But, the fact that he doesn’t play a lot of rash shots even while batting at crucial junctures of the game makes him special.
Dhoni goes after the bowling only if there is a need to do it. If there is a set batsman playing at the other end and batting fluently, Dhoni just makes sure he stays with the other batsman till the end and the opposition doesn’t get a way-in.
#3 KL Rahul (average – 46.78):
KL Rahul is another player who is following the footsteps of Virat Kohli in terms of being super-consistent in T20I chases. However, he has not done it in as many games as Kohli yet, so to compare him with Kohli won’t be appropriate, but he promises a lot.
Rahul has got all the shots in the book, but he can innovate as well if the situation demands. He has got the reverse-dab and the scoop shot in his repertoire, along with the drive, the punch, the cut and the pull.
#4 JP Duminy (average – 45.55):
JP Duminy, who is now retired from the game, was a decent finisher as well. The left-hander mostly used to bat at no. 5 and possessed a great temperament. Most of the T20 games that South Africa won while chasing over the last decade, Duminy had a role to play in that.
While Duminy was someone who could play conventional cricket, he had big shots in him as well and could clear the ground against both pace and spin.
#5 Kumar Sangakkara (average- 44.93):
Kumar Sangakkara was never someone who could take the game away from the opposition in a jiffy. He hardly played any cross-batted shot even in T20I cricket, but he had the ability to maintain the tempo while playing cricketing shots and since he had no apparent weaknesses; it was hard to keep him quiet at the crease for a long time.
Sangakkara mostly anchored the chases for Sri Lanka while opening the batting or batting at no. 3 and saw them through in a lot of games.
