ESPNcricinfo Awards 2022 men's T20I batting nominees: Kohli's rescue act, Litton's powerplay blitz

Bhanuka Rajapaksa
71 not out vs Pakistan
Asia Cup final, Dubai
Nine months before the Asia Cup, Rajapaksa announced his retirement from international cricket, only to retract it shortly after. It proved fortunate for Sri Lanka, because he went on to star in the title clash of the Asia Cup, where he rescued his side who were floundering at 58 for 5, with an 71 off 45 balls to help them post 170, which was then defended by a young bowling line-up. Rajapaksa was orthodox and calculating, hitting six fours and three sixes while stitching together a crucial partnership of 58 off 36 with Wanindu Hasaranga. Sri Lanka wrapped up the game with a commanding win and took the title home for the sixth time.

Harry Brook
81 not out vs Pakistan
third T20I, Karachi
One of the most promising young England batters of recent times, Brook provided an exciting glimpse of his potential future in T20s in Karachi. Walking in at 82 for 3 in the ninth over, he smashed an unbeaten 81 off 35 balls - his maiden T20I fifty, in his eighth innings - and shared an unbroken 139-run partnership off 69 balls with Ben Duckett to power the visitors to 221. His innings, which saw eight fours and five sixes, showcased an ability to counter Pakistan's spin with ease. Mark Wood's three-for then ensured a big England victory, giving them the lead in the series.

Finn Allen
42 vs Australia
T20 World Cup, Sydney
The New Zealand opener announced himself on the big stage with a blitzkrieg in the World Cup opener against Australia. Since Allen's debut in March 2021, he has been one of the most aggressive batters in international cricket, with a strike rate above 150 in the powerplay. His innings in this, the first game of the World Cup, which included three sixes and five fours, immediately put Australia on the back foot. Though he fell in the fifth over, his partner Devon Conway went on to build on the foundation Allen had laid, and New Zealand ended with 200 runs on the board, which proved too many for the hosts.

Virat Kohli
82 not out vs Pakistan
T20 World Cup, Melbourne
In front of more than 90,000 fans at the MCG, India pipped Pakistan in an epic last-ball thriller and Kohli was the protagonist of the triumph, blazing an unbeaten 82 off 53 deliveries. India were 31 for 4 in the seventh over, chasing 160, before Kohli and Hardik Pandya's fifth-wicket partnership brought it down to a still massive 28 to win off eight balls. Kohli finished the job with two back-to-back sixes off Haris Rauf in the 19th over and a six in the final over. "My best T20 innings," he called it later, teary-eyed.

Glenn Phillips
104 vs Sri Lanka
T20 World Cup, Sydney
New Zealand were 7 for 2, soon to become 15 for 3 by the fourth over. They were in desperate need of rescue when Phillips put his hand up. Not only did he steady the innings, he went on to make a masterful 100 - only his second in T20Is - of New Zealand's total of 167 to propel them to a competitive total, helped by two dropped catches by Sri Lanka at 12 and 45. A standout feature of his innings was his running between the wickets in his 84-run partnership with Daryll Mitchell.

David Miller
59 not out vs India
T20 World Cup, Perth
On a pacy pitch in Perth after Lungi Ngidi and Co had restricted India to 133, South Africa lost their top order for just 24 runs inside the powerplay. In came Aiden Markram and Miller to turn things around. Both batters made fifties and Miller had a 76-run fourth wicket-stand with Markram, but Markram fell in the 16th over. It came down to 25 to get off 18 deliveries, and Rohit Sharma took a gamble and handed the ball to R Ashwin for the 18th over. It could have gone either way, but an in-form Miller hit consecutive sixes off the offspinner and eventually finished the job for South Africa with two balls to spare.

Litton Das
60 vs India
T20 World Cup, Adelaide
Bangladesh struggled in the powerplay all through 2022, but on a big night in Adelaide, Litton stepped up to give India a scare. Chasing India's 184, he smashed seven fours and three sixes inside the first seven overs before the rain came down. He attacked from the get-go, hitting Arshdeep Singh for three fours in the second over. He took 16 overs off the next over, from Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and raced to a 21-ball fifty, the second fastest by a Bangladesh batter, and put Bangladesh 17 runs ahead of the DLS par score before the rain interruption. The break, however, affected Bangladesh's momentum, and Litton was run out immediately after the resumption. That was when the chase turned, and the loss left them on the brink of being knocked out.

Shadab Khan
52 vs South Africa
T20 World Cup, Sydney
In a must-win match, Shadab's all-round heroics kept Pakistan's semi-final hopes alive. Pakistan were in trouble at 43 for 4 but he blitzed 52 off 22 from No. 7 and paired with Iftikar Ahmed to take them within touching distance of 200. His 20-ball fifty - his first half-century in T20Is - contained three fours and four sixes. By the time his innings ended in the 19th over Pakistan had 177 on board, and they eventually posted a competitive 185, which proved to be enough in the rain-hit game.

Alex Hales
86 not out vs India
T20 World Cup semi-final, Adelaide
After three and a half years in the wilderness, Hales came good at the perfect time for England to justify his recall. His unbeaten innings in the semi-final, in an unbroken 170-run opening partnership with his captain, Jos Buttler, inflicted a massive ten-wicket defeat on India and took England into the final of the World Cup. hales equalled India's tally of seven sixes all by himself, even clearing Adelaide's massive 88-metre straight boundaries with ease. Though his form heading into the World Cup had not been sensational, his solid experience in Australian conditions made England take the gamble to open with him - and it paid off.

Suryakumar Yadav
111 not out vs New Zealand
second T20I, Mount Maunganui
Suryakumar: 111. Other India batters combined: 80. New Zealand: 126. A week after India's T20 World Cup campaign ended, Suryakumar played a "video-game innings," as Virat Kohli called it, scoring his first 57 off 35 balls before ransacking 54 off 16. In a year where he accumulated 1164 runs in 31 T20Is (at a strike rate of 187.43) to become the highest run-getter in the shortest format Suryakumar showcased fearless and unorthodox hitting at the highest level on his way to his second T20I hundred. New Zealand's chase never got going and they were eventually all out well short of the target in the 19th over.

Men's T20I bowling shortlist
ESPNcricinfo Awards 2022