TheT20 World has given us a fair share of drama as the carnival of cricket came to an end on Sunday 14 November. Last over finishes, tense battles, hat-tricks, quickfire cameos had been the features of the T20 World Cup. Dew factor, spinning tracks set up different set challenges for the batters and despite this, the batters were successful enough to seize the occasion and made their mark. Here is a look at the top five batters of the tournament.
Babar Azam (303 runs)
Babar Azam's consistent run in the tournament helped him enter record books. With 303 runs in the tournament he became just the fourth man to score more than 300 runs in a single edition of a T20 World Cup. With four half-centuries in six Innings, Pakistan skipper rose to new heights and almost guided his team to the showdown finale before falling at the semi-final hurdle. Azam had an average of 60.60 and a strike rate of 126.25.
David Warner (289 runs)
With 289 runs in the tournament, Warner stands sixth in the most runs of a single edition of T20 World Cup. The Australian opener also holds the record of scoring most runs in a single edition of T20 World Cup for Australia, going past Matthew Hayden’s record of 265 runs in the inaugural edition 14 years ago. Warner’s highest score of 89 not out came against West Indies in the super 12 stage. Interestingly, he was part of the first set of Australian players to win both 50-over and 20-over World Cup alongside his seven other teammates.
Mohammad Rizwan (281 runs)
When defending targets in dew was a major issue in the tournament, Pakistan proved they were formidable both while chasing and defending the totals. While Babar Azam did the damage at one end his partner in crime Mohammad Rizwan was giving nightmares to the opposition at other end. With 281 runs in six Innings and a highest score of 79 not out, Rizwan was instrumental in Pakistan’s progression to the semi-final. With 12 sixes only Jos Buttler (13) had hit more than the Pakistan opener in the tournament.
Jos Buttler (269 runs)
Jos Buttler remains the only batter in the tournament to score a hundred with an unbeaten 101 against Sri Lanka in Sarjah in Super 12 stage against Sri Lanka. His superiority could be seen when it came to the numbers game, the English wicketkeeper had the best average in the tournament with 89.66. The opener carried the bat on three occasions. 13 sixes in the tournament saw him top the list for most sixes in the T20 World Cup 2021. Buttler also had the highest strike rate amongst all the players whose teams advanced to the semi-finals.
Charith Asalanka (231 runs)
A journey started in the qualifiers, the Sri Lankan opener went underneath the radar as his team was knocked out in the group stages. With 231 runs in the tournament the left-handed batter had been a reliable asset with his consistent performances throughout the T20 World Cup. His highest score of 80 not out came in the run chase against Bangladesh. The southpaw ended up with two fifties to his name with an average of 46.20 in six innings.
