Batting highlights from T20 World Cup history — top run-getters, highest individual scores, iconic partnerships, and record team totals.
The ICC Men’s T20 World Cup has seen many outstanding batting performances over the years. Batters have lit up the T20 marquee event by dominating bowling attacks, creating & breaking records, and delivering under pressure on the biggest stage.
Top 5 run-scorers in T20 World Cups
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s/50s |
| Virat Kohli | 33 | 1292 | 58.72 | 128.81 | 0/15 |
| Rohit Sharma | 44 | 1220 | 34.85 | 133.04 | 0/12 |
| Mahela Jayawardene | 31 | 1016 | 39.07 | 134.74 | 1/6 |
| Jos Buttler | 34 | 1013 | 42.20 | 147.23 | 1/5 |
| David Warner | 41 | 984 | 25.89 | 134.24 | 0/8 |
- While only four batters have accumulated 1000 or more runs in T20 World Cup history, a total of 34 batters have scored over 500 runs in the marquee event.
- Among them, Virat Kohli’s batting average of 58.72 is the highest, and Kevin Pietersen comes second with an average of 44.61. The latter has scored 580 in the 15 innings he batted in the T20 World Cups.
- Shahid Afridi (546 runs in 32 innings) has the best batting strike rate (154.23), and Pietersen’s 148.33 is the second best.
- Only two batters have scored more than 10 half-centuries in T20 World Cups, namely Virat Kohli (15) and Rohit Sharma (12).
Read More: Top 5 economical bowlers to watch out for in T20 World Cup 2026
Top 5 individual scores in T20 World Cups
| Batter | Score | Opposition | Strike Rate | Result | Venue |
| Brendon McCullum | 123(58) | Bangladesh | 212.06 | Won | Pallekele (2012) |
| Chris Gayle | 117 (57) | South Africa | 205.26 | Lost | Johannesburg (2007) |
| Alex Hales | 116*(64) | Sri Lanka | 181.25 | Won | Chattogram (2014) |
| Ahmed Shehzad | 111*(62) | Bangladesh | 179.03 | Won | Mirpur (2014) |
| Rilee Rossouw | 109 (56) | Bangladesh | 194.64 | Won | Sydney (2022) |
- A total of 10 batters have scored 11 centuries in ICC World Cups, with Chris Gayle (100) being the only one to score two centuries.
- In fact, Gayle was the first batter to score a century in the T20 World Cups, and he did it in the inaugural edition.
- Brendon McCullum has the highest individual score in the T20 World Cups. The former New Zealand skipper scored 123 against Bangladesh in a 2012 World Cup Group game.
Top 5 Partnerships in T20 World Cups
| Batters | Score | Opposition | Wicket | Result | Venue |
| Jos Buttler & Alex Hales | 170* | India | First | Won | Adelaide (2022) |
| Quinton de Kock & Rilee Rossouw | 168 | Bangladesh | Second | Won | Sydney (2022) |
| Kumar Sangakarra & Mahela Jayawardene | 166 | West Indies | Second | Won | Bridgetown (2010) |
| Rahmanullah Gurbaz & Ibrahim Zadran | 154 | Uganda | First | Won | Providence (2024) |
| Babar Azam & Mohammad Rizwan | 152 | India | First | Won | Dubai (2021) |
- There have been 50 instances of a batting pair stitching a 100-run stand in T20 World Cups.
- The 170-run stand between Jos Buttler and Alex Hales for the first wicket against India is the highest for a batting pair in the marquee event.
- The pair of Babar Azam & Mohammad Rizwan and Rahmanullah Gurbaz & Ibrahim Zadran have recorded three century partnerships, the most in the history of T20 World Cups.
- Mahela Jayawardene was involved in three century-run stands (once with Tillakaratne Dilshan and twice with Kumar Sangakkara).
- The other pairs to have two century runs stands are: Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli, David Warner & Shane Watson, and Matthew Hayden & Adam Gilchrist.
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Top 5 team totals in T20 World Cups
| Team | Total | Oppostion | Result | Venue |
| Sri Lanka | 260/6 | Kenya | Won | Johannesburg, 2007 |
| England | 230/8 | South Africa | Won | Wankhede, 2016 |
| South Africa | 229/4 | England | Lost | Wankhede, 2016 |
| India | 218/4 | England | Won | Durban, 2007 |
| West Indies | 218/5 | Afghanistan | Won | Gros Islet, 2024 |
- Sri Lanka recorded 260/6 against Kenya in the inaugural edition of the World Cup, and only once have we seen a total crossing 250 in the event.
- 18 totals of 200 or more have been registered by teams in T20 World Cups.
- South Africa has recorded 200 plus five times, the most by any team in the competition. India and the West Indies have registered three such totals.
- Only thrice has a team lost the game after scoring 200 or more runs. Apart from South Africa, which lost after scoring 229 at Wankhede in 2016, West Indies lost to South Africa, and England lost to India, even after making 205 & 200 respectively.
Lowest 5 team totals
| Team | Total | Oppostion | Result | Venue |
| Uganda | 39 | West Indies | Lost | Guyana, 2024 |
| Netherlands | 39 | Sri Lanka | Lost | Chattogram, 2014 |
| Uganda | 40 | New Zealand | Lost | Trinidad, 2024 |
| Netherlands | 44 | Sri Lanka | Lost | Sharjah, 2021 |
| Oman | 47 | England | Lost | Antigua, 2024 |
- There are 47 instances of a side getting bowled out for 100 or less in a T20 World Cup game.
- Uganda has registered the lowest total (39), and only two other sides have been bundled for a total of 50 or less in the T20 World Cups (Oman and the Netherlands).
- West Indies’ total of 55 at Dubai in 2021 against England is the lowest for a Test playing in T20 World Cup history, followed by Afghanistan’s 56 against South Africa in the 2024 World Cup Semi-finals.
- The lowest all-out total, which resulted in a win, is 106, achieved by Bangladesh against Nepal in the 2024 edition.
Read More: How teams have batted phase-wise in T20Is post T20 WC 2024 (Test-playing nations)
Top 3 performers in knockouts in T20 World Cups
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 100s/50s |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 6 | 379 | 93.25 | 145.13 | 0/5 |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 8 | 227 | 37.83 | 139.26 | 0/1 |
| Jos Buttler (ENG) | 6 | 226 | 56.50 | 156.94 | 0/1 |
- Virat Kohli is the most prolific batter when it comes to T20 World Cup Knockouts. He had amassed 379 runs, with five half-centuries, including a match-winning 76 in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa at Barbados in 2024.
- Tillakaratne Dilshan’s unbeaten 96 in the 2009 World Cup semi-final at the Oval against West Indies is the highest individual score in knockout games.
- The highest score in a losing cause (89*) in a T20 World Cup knockout came. Virat Kohli made this score against the West Indies in the 2016 World Cup semi-final at Mumbai.
- While a century is yet to be scored in a T20 World Cup knockout game, 37 batters have made at least a half-century, and Kohli leads with five fifty-plus scores.
The T20 World Cup 2026 kicks off on February 7.
Read More: How teams have bowled phase-wise in T20Is post T20 WC 2024 (Test-playing nations)
