ESPNcricinfo Awards 2023 Men's T20I batting nominees: The wham bam Grand Slam
A Suryakumar special, a de Kock-Charles face-off, Phil Salt's vengeful hundred and another Maxwell knock for the ages make it to our list
Himanshu Agrawal
24-Jan-2024
Suryakumar Yadav's 112 not out was the second fastest T20I hundred for India • BCCI
Suryakumar Yadav
112 not out vs Sri Lanka
third T20I, Rajkot
In the series decider, Suryakumar arrived with one ball left in the powerplay. India had already posted 50 by then, and he didn't let the momentum slip. An over later, he lofted Chamika Karunaratne for four over mid-off, then a ramp-whip for six off the next delivery. He raced to 25 from his first 15 balls, even as Shubman Gill at the other end took 27 deliveries to make 28. India plundered 136 runs in the last ten overs, of which Suryakumar alone contributed 87 from 36 balls. He finished with a strike rate of 219.6, his second T20I century in five innings.
112 not out vs Sri Lanka
third T20I, Rajkot
In the series decider, Suryakumar arrived with one ball left in the powerplay. India had already posted 50 by then, and he didn't let the momentum slip. An over later, he lofted Chamika Karunaratne for four over mid-off, then a ramp-whip for six off the next delivery. He raced to 25 from his first 15 balls, even as Shubman Gill at the other end took 27 deliveries to make 28. India plundered 136 runs in the last ten overs, of which Suryakumar alone contributed 87 from 36 balls. He finished with a strike rate of 219.6, his second T20I century in five innings.
Johnson Charles
118 vs South Africa
second T20I, Centurion
West Indies had zoomed to 179 in 14 overs, and Charles had already ransacked 118 from 46 balls by then. Of those, 106 runs had come in boundaries alone, including 11 sixes. Marco Jansen and the spinners, Tabraiz Shamsi and Aiden Markram, faced the brunt of the assault - Jansen went for three fours and four sixes while the spinners were cumulatively dispatched for five sixes. Charles' hundred - his first T20I century - came off 39 deliveries, breaking Chris Gayle's record for the fastest hundred in the format by a West Indies player. Johnson helped West Indies post 258, a score that had never been chased down in T20Is before, until…
118 vs South Africa
second T20I, Centurion
West Indies had zoomed to 179 in 14 overs, and Charles had already ransacked 118 from 46 balls by then. Of those, 106 runs had come in boundaries alone, including 11 sixes. Marco Jansen and the spinners, Tabraiz Shamsi and Aiden Markram, faced the brunt of the assault - Jansen went for three fours and four sixes while the spinners were cumulatively dispatched for five sixes. Charles' hundred - his first T20I century - came off 39 deliveries, breaking Chris Gayle's record for the fastest hundred in the format by a West Indies player. Johnson helped West Indies post 258, a score that had never been chased down in T20Is before, until…
Quinton de Kock
100 vs West Indies
second T20I, Centurion
South Africa pulled off the highest T20 chase in history, as de Kock set about avenging the damage wreaked by Johnson Charles and Co. in the first innings. He was ruthless on the bowlers, crunching eight massive sixes into the stands. The fifth of those took de Kock to fifty off 15 balls. When he got to his hundred from 43 deliveries in the 11th over, South Africa had 151 of the 259 runs required. They ended up hunting the total down with six wickets and seven balls to spare, bringing the total runs scored in the match to 517, the highest ever aggregate in a T20.
100 vs West Indies
second T20I, Centurion
South Africa pulled off the highest T20 chase in history, as de Kock set about avenging the damage wreaked by Johnson Charles and Co. in the first innings. He was ruthless on the bowlers, crunching eight massive sixes into the stands. The fifth of those took de Kock to fifty off 15 balls. When he got to his hundred from 43 deliveries in the 11th over, South Africa had 151 of the 259 runs required. They ended up hunting the total down with six wickets and seven balls to spare, bringing the total runs scored in the match to 517, the highest ever aggregate in a T20.
Glenn Maxwell
104 not out vs India
third T20I, Guwahati
If Maxwell's World Cup double-hundred three weeks before demonstrated his superhuman ability, this century served to drive the point home. Australia needed 16 from the last four balls in pursuit of 223, and Maxwell, then on 86 off 44 deliveries, clubbed a six and three fours in a row to deliver. Before that flourish, the highlights of his onslaught included a reverse lap and an across-the-line swipe while falling over, for six each, both off Arshdeep Singh. With this innings, Maxwell equalled Rohit Sharma's then record for the most T20I hundreds (four), and also became the only player to score a hundred in his 100th T20I.
104 not out vs India
third T20I, Guwahati
If Maxwell's World Cup double-hundred three weeks before demonstrated his superhuman ability, this century served to drive the point home. Australia needed 16 from the last four balls in pursuit of 223, and Maxwell, then on 86 off 44 deliveries, clubbed a six and three fours in a row to deliver. Before that flourish, the highlights of his onslaught included a reverse lap and an across-the-line swipe while falling over, for six each, both off Arshdeep Singh. With this innings, Maxwell equalled Rohit Sharma's then record for the most T20I hundreds (four), and also became the only player to score a hundred in his 100th T20I.
Phil Salt
119 vs West Indies
fourth T20I, Tarouba
In the third game of the T20I series, Salt had bludgeoned 109 not out off 56 balls - his first T20I century. In Tarouba he went one better, cracking 119 off 57. Seven fours and ten sixes came off Salt's bat, and records tumbled - the assault took England to 267, their highest T20I total, while Salt's score was the highest individual score for England in T20Is. His second successive hundred came just after he'd been snubbed at the IPL auction earlier that day. After this performance, franchises too might have been left wondering what could have been.
119 vs West Indies
fourth T20I, Tarouba
In the third game of the T20I series, Salt had bludgeoned 109 not out off 56 balls - his first T20I century. In Tarouba he went one better, cracking 119 off 57. Seven fours and ten sixes came off Salt's bat, and records tumbled - the assault took England to 267, their highest T20I total, while Salt's score was the highest individual score for England in T20Is. His second successive hundred came just after he'd been snubbed at the IPL auction earlier that day. After this performance, franchises too might have been left wondering what could have been.
Himanshu Agrawal is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo