Last Updated on 9 months ago by Charbel Coorey
5 most impactful batting innings in the 2021 T20 World Cup | Looking at the 5 best, most impactful batting knocks in the 2021 T20 World Cup
‘When the going gets tough, the tough gets going’.
We have seen an enormous number of batters taking advantage of great starts, but seldom have we seen a batter thriving under a critical situation. Their importance reaches zenith when a World Cup is at stake.
They are called ‘clutch players’ and a lot of eyeballs reside on them especially when they are subjected to crunch situations. Their impact is judged from the way they deal with such situations and rescue their teams.
In the recently concluded T20 World Cup, there were some players who proved their worth by performing exceedingly well under extreme pressure. Their efforts need a special mention and, in this article, I am going to list five most impactful knocks played in this World Cup. Here we go.
James Neesham 27 (11) vs England
Most gave credit of New Zealand’s Semi Final victory to Daryl Mitchell, which he definitely deserved. But, the knock that turned the game in New Zealand’s favour James Neesham’s cameo of 27 runs off just 11.
New Zealand required 60 off 29 balls when Neesham joined Mitchell in the middle. The situation demanded a quickfire knock, which Neesham delivered with precision. He picked England’s best death bowler, Chris Jordan, for this purpose.
His brutal hitting put immense pressure on Jordan to get his Yorkers right in the 17th over. With two huge sixes and one boundary, Neesham scored 19 runs in that over. If this wasn’t enough, he went after Adil Rashid in the next over and hit another six in his very first delivery.
New Zealand scored 40 much-needed runs in just 17 balls during his short-stay in the middle. More importantly, his efforts brought the equation down to just 20 off 12 balls, which was easily achieved by Mitchell in the next over.
Jos Buttler 101* (67) vs Sri Lanka
Although England started as clear favourites against Sri Lanka, the Lankan bowlers had other ideas as they dismantled the English top order, which left them reeling at 47/3 at the end of 10 overs. It was gripping at Sharjah, some deliveries were keeping low and England needed someone to take the charge in order to finish their innings on a high note.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man!
Jos Buttler started playing his shots, with ample support from Eoin Morgan at the other end. He went after all the Sri Lankan bowlers especially their fast bowlers and destroyed their rhythm. He hit them all around the park and reached his century in 67 balls despite being 24 off 30 at one stage.
His fireworks enabled England to reach 166 which they defended successfully.
Matthew Wade 41* (17) vs Pakistan
Imagine needing 80 runs in 46 balls with just five wickets in hand against an in-form Pakistan? You are certainly under the pump.
Matthew Wade went to bat in that exact situation in the second Semi Final. Pakistan was nearing a one-sided victory and the jubilant celebrations of the Pakistani crowd had already begun in the stands in Dubai.
There was a lot of pressure on the Australian keeper-batsman and the way he dealt with it was magnificent. He was at 8 off 9 balls at the end of the 17th over, but was successful in targeting Hasan Ali in the very next over. He hit Hasan for a six and a four and took 13 off 4 balls in his over.
What followed next was sheer carnage. Wade smashed the premier fast bowler of Pakistan, Shaheen Afridi, for three consecutive sixes and won it for Australia single-handedly in the 19th over. He was adjudged the player of the match for his blistering knock.
Kane Williamson 85 (48) vs Australia
Kane Williamson didn’t have a great World Cup prior to the Final as he had scored just 131 runs at a strike rate of just 94.24.
But the World Cup Final against the mighty Aussies proved to be the ideal situation for the Kiwi-skipper to step up and show his class when it mattered the most, yet again.
Williamson joined hands with Martin Guptill after the fall of Mitchell’s wicket in the 4th over. Guptill was struggling to get going at the other end and pressure was building up on the experienced duo. Williamson started changing his gears and went bonkers soon after Guptill was dismissed.
He smashed Starc for three consecutive fours in the 11th over to start with and hit Maxwell for two consecutive sixes in the 13th over. His hitting prowess reached new levels when he hit 22 runs in the 16th over; Mitchell Starc being at the receiving end once again. He had a boundary percentage of almost 69 on his way to an outstanding knock of 85. Although it came in a losing cause, it was one of the finest innings I have ever seen in a Final.
Mitchell Marsh 77* (50) vs New Zealand
A target of 173 certainly feels like 193 in a World Cup Final. Added to that, Australia started the chase in a poor manner as they lost an important wicket of Aaron Finch in the third over.
You would expect your batters to consolidate in such a situation. However, Mitchell Marsh smacked the very first ball he faced over square leg for a six. This was the proof of the plethora of confidence the man had at that moment. The next two balls went for two boundaries and he never looked back.
He was so comfortable and dominating that it didn’t seem like he was feeling the pressure of the final. He never let the asking rate increase and as a result, Australia chased the target with ease.
His knock of 77* off just 50 balls involved six fours and four humongous sixes and he was so attractive to watch in the night of the final. There was absolutely no wonder why he was adjudged the player of the match for his breath-taking knock.
For a knock to be impactful, we need to consider the situation under which it is played as well as the dominance of the knock. Frankly, I don’t have any doubt regarding these five being the five most impactful knocks of this World Cup. Have your say!
Written by Debashish Sarangi. Follow Debashish on Twitter today
