The year 2022 is close to its end with only a couple of weeks left for the new year. And while there are three high-profile Test series going on, T20Is are over among the higher-ranked nations.
2022 saw England win their second T20 World Cup title with Jos Buttler leading the Three Lions to the title in the tournament in Australia. The T20 WC was an entertaining tournament with upsets galore throughout the qualifying round and the group stages. India end the year as the highest-ranked T20I side, although they suffered a thwacking in the semi-final by England.
We look at the top 5 batsmen who scored most 50+ scores in T20Is in 2022:
Suryakumar Yadav – 11
Suryakumar Yadav had a breakthrough year in international cricket and attained form barely seen at the highest level in this format. Suryakumar Yadav was in belligerent touch this year, and was without a doubt, the best T20 batsman of 22. Not only he scored big runs – he is the leading run-scorer in T20Is in 2022 with 1164 runs in 31 innings at an average of 46 – but he also scored those at a rapid strike rate of 187!
In T20Is this year, Yadav smashed 9 fifties – 3 of those came in the T20 WC – and 2 centuries -against England and New Zealand, both away from home.
Mohammad Rizwan – 10
Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan had another memorable year with the bat in T20Is, helping Pakistan reach the final of both the Asia Cup in the UAE and the T20 World Cup in Australia. He finished as the second-leading scorer in the format in 2022 with 996 runs at an average of 45, but his strike rate of 122 came under heavy scrutiny and criticism.
Mohammad Rizwan notched up 10 half-centuries in T20Is in 2022, including one in the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka but that ended up in a losing cause.
Virat Kohli – 9
Star Indian batter Virat Kohli broke his three-year century drought in the Asia Cup 2022 against Afghanistan, also notching up his maiden T20I hundred. This year, in T20Is, Kohli cracked 781 runs in only 20 innings at an average of 55 and strike rate of 138 with the help of 8 fifties and 1 century.
Virat Kohli was in the beast mode during the T20 World Cup 2022 as well, finishing as the leading run-scorer of the tournament, scoring 296 runs in just 6 innings at a staggering average of 98, raising 4 half-centuries in 6 knocks.
Glenn Phillips – 7
New Zealand batter Glenn Phillips announced himself a powerful T20 ball muscler this year, including smashing a century against Sri Lanka in the T20 WC 2022. Phillips played 19 T20I innings, scoring 716 runs at an average of 44 and a strike rate of 156. He hit one century and 6 fifties in those 19 innings.
Babar Azam, Mohammad Waseem, Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul – 6
A total of four batsmen – Babar Azam, Mohammad Waseem, Pathum Nissanka, KL Rahul – hit 6 fifty-plus scores this year in T20Is. Pakistan captain and opener Babar and UAE opener Waseem scored 1 century and 5 fifties each while India opener KL Rahul and Sri Lankan opener Nissanka hit 6 fifties each,
