Highest individual scores in T20 cricket by players in and of each country
Highest individual scores in T20 cricket by players in and of each country
Mukhtar Ahmed made 123 in Haier Mobile T20 Cup in Pakistan which is the highest individual score by a Pakistani in T20s as well as the highest in Pakistan. On the occasion, Bharath Seervi lists highest individual scores in T20s by players from each country and in each country.
Playing for Sialkot against Karachi Whites in the Haier Mobile T20-Cup on September 8, 2015, Mukhtar Ahmed smashed 123 off 67 balls. In the process he broke Imran Farhat’s record of 115 runs as the highest individual score by a Pakistani player in T20s across all venues. It was Mukhtar Ahmed’s second century in T20 cricket. He became the fifth batsman from Pakistan to score more than one century in T20s. On this occasion let us list similar records for players of all Test-playing nations and in all Test-playing nations.
| Country | Score | Batsman | Team | Against | Venue | Date | Result |
| Australia | 156 | Aaron Finch | Australia | England | Rose Bowl | 29-Aug-13 | Won |
| Bangladesh | 130 | Tamim Iqbal | UCB BCB XI | Mohammedan Sporting Club | Mirpur | 29-Dec-13 | Lost |
| England | 153* | Luke Wright | Sussex | Essex | Chelmsford | 25-Jul-14 | Won |
| India | 127 | Murali Vijay | CSK | RR | Chepauk | 03-Apr-14 | Won |
| New Zealand | 158* | Brendon McCullum | KKR | RCB | Chinnaswamy | 18-Apr-08 | Won |
| 158* | Brendon McCullum | Warwickshire | Derbyshire | Edgbaston | 03-Jul-15 | Won | |
| Pakistan | 123 | Mukhtar Ahmed | Sialkot | Karachi Whites | Rawalpindi | 08-Sep-15 | Won |
| Sri Lanka | 114* | Sanath Jayasuriya | Mumbai Indians | CSK | Wankhede | 14-May-08 | Won |
| South Africa | 140* | Pieter Malan | Western Province | Easterns | Newlands | 07-Dec-14 | Won |
| West Indies | 175* | Chris Gayle | RCB | PWI | Chinnaswamy | 23-Apr-13 | Won |
| Zimbabwe | 108 | Mark Vermeulen | Westerns | Centrals | Bulawayo | 13-May-09 | Tied |
– Australia, England, New Zealand and West Indies have players with 150s.
– Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe do not have players with 125s.
– T20 cricket’s top two highest individual scores have come at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore in IPL.
– The highest individual scores for Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and West Indies have come in overseas venues.
– Only for Australia the highest individual score in T20s have come in a T20 international (T20I).
– Brendon McCullum has two identical scores of 158*, the highest by a Kiwi; both have come outside New Zealand.
| Host | Score | Batsman | Team | Against | Venue | Date | Result |
| Australia | 117 | Luke Wright | Melbourne Stars | Hobart Hurricanes | Bellerive | 09-Jan-12 | Won |
| Bangladesh | 130 | Tamim Iqbal | UCB BCB XI | Mohammedan Sporting Club | Mirpur | 29-Dec-13 | Lost |
| England | 158* | Brendon McCullum | Warwickshire | Derbyshire | Birmingham | 03-Jul-15 | Won |
| India | 175* | Chris Gayle | RCB | PWI | Chinnaswamy | 23-Apr-13 | Won |
| New Zealand | 120* | Martin Guptill | Auckland | Canterbury | Rangiora | 03-Jan-12 | Won |
| Pakistan | 123 | Mukhtar Ahmed | Sialkot | Karachi Whites | Rawalpindi | 08-Sep-15 | Won |
| Sri Lanka | 123 | Brendon McCullum | New Zealand | Bangladesh | Pallekelle | 21-Sep-12 | Won |
| South Africa | 140* | Pieter Malan | Western Province | Easterns | Cape Town | 07-Dec-14 | Won |
| West Indies | 122* | Chris Gayle | Jamaica | Guyana | Gros Islet | 19-Jan-13 | Lost |
| Zimbabwe | 121* | Ryan ten Doeschate | Mashonaland Eagles | Matabeleland Tuskers | Newlands | 03-Dec-11 | Won |
– Interestingly, Australian venues have the lowest ‘highest’ individual score in T20s — a mere 117.
– Australians have scored big hundreds: Aaron Finch (156), Cameron White (141*), David Warner (135* and 123* in consecutive innings), but none of those came in Australia.
– Before Mukhtar Ahmed’s 123, Pakistan had the lowest ‘highest’ individual score with (115 by Farhat).
– Apart from Australia, every other Test-playing nation has seen at least one 120 including Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
– Chris Gayle (in India and West Indies) and McCullum (in England and Sri Lanka) hold the record of the highest individual score in two countries each.
– The highest individual scores in Australia, England, India, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe are by overseas players.
– Only in Sri Lanka, the highest individual score has come in a T20I.
– Gayle has scored T20 centuries in seven Test-playing nations. He has missed out on New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Let us now check top individual scores by players from Associate Nations as well.
| Score | Batsman | Nationality | Team | Against | Venue | Date | Result |
| 145* | Louis van der Westhuizen | Namibia | Namibia | Kenya | Windhoek | 07-Nov-11 | Won |
| 127* | William Porterfield | Ireland | Ireland | USA | Abu Dhabi | 20-Nov-13 | Won |
| 125 | Craig Williams | Namibia | Namibia | Kenya | Windhoek | 06-Nov-11 | Won |
| 121* | Ryan ten Doeschate | Netherlands | Mashonaland Eagles | Matabeleland Tuskers | Harare | 03-Dec-11 | Won |
| 119 | Kevin O’Brien | Ireland | Gloucestershire | Middlesex | Uxbridge | 26-Jun-11 | Won |
| 116* | Jan Stander | Scotland | Scotland | Namibia | Windhoek | 01-Oct-11 | Won |
| 116 | Craig Williams | Namibia | Namibia | Scotland | Windhoek | 04-Oct-11 | Won |
– Louis van der Westhuizen and Craig Williams scored those big hundreds on consecutive days against the same opposition at the same ground.
– Jan Stander was born in South Africa has played entirely for Scotland.
(Bharath Seervi is cricket statistician who is obsessed with digging numbers, facts and records related to the game. An active member of Society of Cricket Statisticians of India, he blogs at www.cricketseervistats.blogspot.com. He can be followed on Twitter at @SeerviBharath and on Facebook here)