Myburgh or Brathwaite, Gul or Afridi - vote for the greatest T20 World Cup performance
Two sensational efforts from Pakistan pace bowlers, a blitz from a Netherlands batter and a stunning performance in a World Cup final
ESPNcricinfo staff
17-Oct-2022 • Updated on 18-Oct-2022
Which performance, according to you, is the greatest in the history of the men's T20 World Cup? We've shortlisted 16 outstanding entries, and will be pairing two each in match-ups for fans to vote on until we find a winner.
Voting for these match-ups has ended. Carlos Brathwaite's 3-23 & 34* and Umar Gul's 5-6 move to the quarter-finals.
Stephan Myburgh's 63 vs Carlos Brathwaite's 3-23 & 34*
63 (23) vs IRE | Stephan Myburgh | Sylhet, 2014
To qualify for the Super 10, Netherlands needed to vault from No. 3 to No. 1 in the group on net run-rate, which left them having to score 190 runs in 14.2 overs against Ireland - odds most teams might think would rule them out. But Stephan Myburgh was the master mathematician. He took three sixes off offspinner Andy McBrine's first over and three more off Alex Cusack to bring up the team fifty in 3.1 overs. They got to 91 by the time the powerplay ended with Myburgh bringing up his own fifty in only 17 balls, which at the time was the second-fastest in the format. Not long after that, he was toasting a victory that even now seems unbelievable.
To qualify for the Super 10, Netherlands needed to vault from No. 3 to No. 1 in the group on net run-rate, which left them having to score 190 runs in 14.2 overs against Ireland - odds most teams might think would rule them out. But Stephan Myburgh was the master mathematician. He took three sixes off offspinner Andy McBrine's first over and three more off Alex Cusack to bring up the team fifty in 3.1 overs. They got to 91 by the time the powerplay ended with Myburgh bringing up his own fifty in only 17 balls, which at the time was the second-fastest in the format. Not long after that, he was toasting a victory that even now seems unbelievable.
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3-23 & 34*(10) vs ENG | Carlos Brathwaite | Kolkata, 2016
Nineteen to win in the final over. Four balls, four sixes. "Carlos Brathwaite, remember the name". Those hits at Eden Gardens will forever remain part of cricketing folklore. What gets forgotten is that Brathwaite was effective with the ball too: he picked up the key wickets of Jos Buttler and Joe Root to finish with figures of 4-0-23-3. He then came in at No. 8 with West Indies 107 for 6 in 15.3 chasing 156, and took West Indies to their second title in the company of Marlon Samuels.
Nineteen to win in the final over. Four balls, four sixes. "Carlos Brathwaite, remember the name". Those hits at Eden Gardens will forever remain part of cricketing folklore. What gets forgotten is that Brathwaite was effective with the ball too: he picked up the key wickets of Jos Buttler and Joe Root to finish with figures of 4-0-23-3. He then came in at No. 8 with West Indies 107 for 6 in 15.3 chasing 156, and took West Indies to their second title in the company of Marlon Samuels.
Umar Gul's 5-6 vs Shaheen Shah Afridi's 3-31
5-6 vs NZ | Umar Gul | The Oval, 2009
New Zealand were 72 for 4 when Umar Gul, Pakistan's death-overs specialist, came on in the 13th over, and took five of the next six wickets to knock out the opposition for 99. Gul's impact was instantaneous and devastating: he dismissed Scott Styris and Peter McGlashan with his third and fourth deliveries, sent Nathan McCullum's leg stump cartwheeling in his next over, and ended with the dismissals of James Franklin and Kyle Mills - again off consecutive balls - in his third.
New Zealand were 72 for 4 when Umar Gul, Pakistan's death-overs specialist, came on in the 13th over, and took five of the next six wickets to knock out the opposition for 99. Gul's impact was instantaneous and devastating: he dismissed Scott Styris and Peter McGlashan with his third and fourth deliveries, sent Nathan McCullum's leg stump cartwheeling in his next over, and ended with the dismissals of James Franklin and Kyle Mills - again off consecutive balls - in his third.
3-31 vs IND | Shaheen Shah Afridi | Dubai, 2021
Shaheen Shah Afridi removed India's top three batters in a sensational performance that set up their maiden win over India in men's World Cups. Afridi, with a reputation for striking in the first over, welcomed Rohit Sharma with a yorker that swung into his pads and trapped him lbw. With the first ball of his second over, KL Rahul was bowled when he tried to play one to leg with the angle as it came in to him. And later in the 19th over, Afridi got Virat Kohli to top-edge a slow bouncer to the keeper.
Shaheen Shah Afridi removed India's top three batters in a sensational performance that set up their maiden win over India in men's World Cups. Afridi, with a reputation for striking in the first over, welcomed Rohit Sharma with a yorker that swung into his pads and trapped him lbw. With the first ball of his second over, KL Rahul was bowled when he tried to play one to leg with the angle as it came in to him. And later in the 19th over, Afridi got Virat Kohli to top-edge a slow bouncer to the keeper.