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Yuvraj or Mitchell, Malinga or Buttler - vote for the greatest T20 World Cup performance

A couple of special semi-final 70s, a Buttler hundred and a Malinga five-for in our first set of match-ups

ESPNcricinfo staff
14-Oct-2022 • Updated on 15-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. Yuvraj Singh's 70 and Lasith Malinga's 5-31 move on to the quarter-finals.

Yuvraj Singh's 70 vs Daryl Mitchell's 72*

70 (30) vs AUS | Yuvraj Singh | Durban, 2007
India's young side had made a slow start in the T20 World Cup semi-final and were 41 for 2 at the end of the eighth over. Australia had a strong pace attack, comprising Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clark and Mitchell Johnson, but they ran into a Yuvraj who had clobbered Stuart Broad for six sixes just days earlier - and he wasn't done.
Yuvraj began with a swivel-pull against Clark - one of the best bowlers of the tournament - for six off the second ball he faced, and smashed a 119-metre long pick-up shot off Lee in the next over. His entire innings was a highlights reel. By the time he was done, India were 155 for 4 in the 18th over. They finished with 188, and made their way to the final.
72*(47) vs ENG | Daryl Mitchell | Abu Dhabi, 2021
Opener Mitchell was on 28 off 27 and New Zealand needed 87 off the last eight overs. Jimmy Neesham's whirlwind 27 brought that down to 20 from the last two overs before he was dismissed. Mitchell had stuck around, hitting the odd six in the second half of the innings, but he made sure New Zealand didn't have to endure a tight finish. He hit two sixes followed by a four off the last ball of the 19th over to seal a spot in the final, knocking out tournament favourites England.

Lasith Malinga's 5-31 vs Jos Buttler's 101*

5-31 vs ENG | Lasith Malinga | Pallekele, 2012
All the talk before the game was around how England would handle Sri Lanka's spin threat, but when the hosts began their defence of 169, Malinga stole the limelight and England's title defence was run aground in a single over. Luke Wright, Jonny Bairstow and Alex Hales were dispatched in his first over, and Jos Buttler and Samit Patel were accounted for later. This was far from peak Malinga - he did not hit his yorkers as reliably as he generally did - but the sight of a legendary fast bowler causing havoc was a sight to behold in Pallekele.
101*(67) vs SL | Jos Buttler | Sharjah, 2021
On a slow, low pitch, England made a dreadful start, reaching 47 for 3 at the ten-over drinks break, with Butter on 24 off 30. Then came the explosion. Buttler punched the first ball after drinks for four through wide mid-off and cut loose with a four and a six off Chamika Karunaratne, bringing up a 45-ball half-century - the slowest by an England batter at the men's T20 World Cup. He got his last 51 runs off 22 balls, producing one of his most impressive international innings, and powered England to 163, which all but sealed a semi-final spot for them.