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Greatest T20 World Cup innings by India batters [Source: @Kshitij45__, @academy_dinda, @cricmawa/x]
In the grand theatre of the ICC T20 World Cup, where chaos is compressed into an exhilarating set of 120 deliveries per innings, several Indian batters have often turned fleeting moments into a part of tournament’s rich folklore, as one can expect from a nation that has lifted the silverware twice and reached the knockouts on several other occasions.
There have been some innings that have simply transcended probability and logic, a certain blinder from Virat Kohli at the 2022 T20 World Cup counting, thus marking moments where win predictions become irrelevant and the odds lose their authority altogether.
As Team India braces itself for a title-defence in the upcoming 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at home and in Sri Lanka, here is a look back at five of the greatest innings unleashed by Indian batters in the near two-decade-long history of the tournament.
5. Suresh Raina – 101 off 60 vs South Africa, 2010
In match five of the 2010 T20 World Cup between India and South Africa in Gros Islet, India’s white-ball heavyweight Suresh Raina ransacked the Proteas bowling attack with a scorching 101 from 60 balls. Clattering nine fours and five huge sixes against the likes of Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis, and Morkel brothers Albie and Morne; Raina plundered India’s first and only century so far in T20 World Cup history.
His innings helped India clinch a 14-run win to start off their T20 World Cup campaign on a comprehensive note.
4. Virat Kohli – 82* off 51 vs Australia, 2016
In the middle of his generational run, Virat Kohli did not spare Australia either, as the legendary Indian batter made the ICC heavyweights pay with an innings that married precision and relentless intent. Chasing 161 in a virtual quarterfinal in Mohali in the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup, the Indian run-machine plundered 82* runs off 51 balls with nine fours and two sixes as the hosts pulled off a sensational last-over heist by six wickets.
The next best score in the Indian innings was a modest 21 off 18 balls from Yuvraj Singh, thus underlining the extent of Virat Kohli’s dominance on the celebrated evening that later went down as one of T20 World Cup’s finest run-chase specials, until the master himself produced an even greater escape on Australian soil six years later.
3. Rohit Sharma – 92 off 41 vs Australia, 2024
Heading into the final week of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup in the West Indies, Rohit Sharma led his team from the front against age-old ICC rivals Australia at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet. Batting first, the legendary opener belted Mitchell Starc across all corners of the ground, and even took a special liking to Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa and Marcus Stoinis; hammering 92 runs in the process from just 41 deliveries with seven fours and eight sixes.
Knocking Australia out of the competition, Rohit Sharma’s thunderous knock instilled an unshakeable belief within the Indian camp at the most decisive juncture of the tournament, as his men ended up lifting the world title less than a week later in Bridgetown.
2. Virat Kohli – 82* off 53 vs Pakistan, 2022
India’s win probability dipped to around three percent at one stage of their blockbuster 2022 ICC T20 World Cup showdown against age-old nemesis Pakistan at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). By the time the final delivery of the match was bowled by Pakistan spinner Mohammad Nawaz, Team India had sealed the chase under the most dramatic circumstances, with Virat Kohli standing tall as the mastermind of a heist for the ages.
Slipping to 31-4 in a chase of a stiff 160 against an experienced Pakistan attack, roughly a year after India suffered its first-ever World Cup defeat against their arch-rivals; Virat Kohli defied odds, personal form, past demons and logic itself by whacking 82* runs from 53 balls, an innings that was laced with six boundaries and four of the timeliest sixes. Nearly four years later, Kohli’s MCG masterclass remains one of the most celebrated chapters in T20 World Cup history, eclipsing even his own 82*-run fury against Australia in the 2016 edition of the tournament.
1. Yuvraj Singh – 70 off 30 vs Australia, 2007
The innings that made India believe, the innings that paved the way for the ‘Men in Blue’ to conquer the world!
If Yuvraj Singh’s six-laden madness against England on September 19, 2007 at the Kingsmead in Durban was the spark that ignited the campaign, what followed a couple of days later at the same venue in the second semifinal against Australia was the inferno that carried India all the way.
Taking centre-stage against the ODI World Champions after blasting six sixes in an over during his record 12-ball 50 against England, Yuvraj Singh picked up right where he left off, launching Brett Lee into orbit for a 119m maximum. The legendary left-hander went on to unleash 70 cracking runs from just 30 deliveries against the likes of Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Bracken, Stuart Clarke and others as India mounted 188-5 in 20 overs.
Team India ended up eclipsing Australia by 15 runs to storm into a blockbuster T20 World Cup finale with Pakistan, a contest that birthed one of the most iconic climaxes in Indian cricket history and ultimately sealed the dawn of a new global force in 20-overs cricket.
