LISTICLE
Follow UsNo matter how paced the T20 format has become, scoring a century in this format is no joke, especially at the international level. Of course, there are players like Rohit Sharma (4), Suryakumar Yadav (3), Colin Munro (3), Babar Azam (3), Glenn Maxwell (3), and many more who have multiple centuries in this format, but there are also batters who you wouldn’t expect to cross the triple-figure mark in this format. Here, we look at five unlikely players who have scored a hundred in T20Is.
(Only from the top-10 ranked teams)
117* off 51 vs New Zealand, 2012
The South African opener took the world cricket by storm when he smoked a century in only his second T20I. Having debuted in the same series, Levi walked in to open the batting for South Africa after New Zealand posted a total of 173 in Hamilton. The Proteas had already lost the first encounter and had to win this one to keep the series alive. The Blackcaps would have been confident with their work in the first innings but they had no idea what hit them in the second innings.
Levi slammed five fours and 13 maximums in his 51-ball knock, and before New Zealand could come up with a plan, the game was over in just 16 overs. Thanks to this knock, Levi even got an IPL gig but could never deliver such performances. He only featured in 13 T20Is for the Proteas, ending his career with an average of just 21.45. The right-handed batter hit 15 sixes in his career,r and 13 of them came in just one knock. People soon figured out his legside-dominated game and weakness against spin, and Levi never played for South Africa after 2012.
114* off 70 vs West Indies, 2015
The wicketkeeper-batter featured in 155 T20s and scored only one century, which came at the international level against West Indies. The right-hander clobbered nine fours and seven sixes and helped South Africa amass a total of 195/3, which West Indies failed to chase. Van Wyk only played eight T20Is despite averaging 37.50 at a strike rate of 143.31.
Van Wyk made his international debut in 2003 but got limited opportunities in the presence of Mark Boucher. The latter stopped playing white-ball cricket for South Africa after 201,1, but the Proteas’ urge to keep the gloves to AB de Villiers and then the emergence of Quinton de Kock never allowed van Wyk’s career to take off. In a career spanning 12 years, van Wyk only played 17 ODIs and eight T20Is.
104 off 57 vs Ireland, 2022
With scores of 21, 47*, 104, 33, 10*, 21 and 38 in his first seven innings, Hooda had quite a start to his T20I career. The right-hander, however, had a terrible IPL 2023 and hasn’t been talked about since then, despite him offering a part-time off-spin, which is now quite rare in Indian cricket. However, no one can take away the fact that he is one of the seven Indian players with a T20I hundred.
That century came against Ireland last year. Batting at No. 3, Hooda hit 104 off 57 deliveries and put on a partnership of 176 runs with Sanju Samson. 35 of his 104 had come off Conor Olphert’s bowling, but barring Joshua Little and Mark Adair, Hooda took on every bowler in the Irish ranks. Everything was going smoothly for Hooda before IPL 2023, in which he averaged just 7.64 in 12 innings. Overall, as well, he only has one more century in 190 T20s.
107 off 53 vs England, 2022
The reason why Powell is on the list is because the West Indian allrounder has spent the majority of his T20I career batting at No. 5 or lower. In his 63 T20Is, Powell has batted at No. 4 only 11 times, and that’s the highest position he has batted at T20Is. Coincidentally, this century also came from the same position.
Against England in Bridgetown, the hard-hitting batter slammed 107 off 53 deliveries, decorated with four fours and 10 sixes. Powell walked into bat in the final over of the powerplay and completely annihilated the England bowling attack. Powell has played 179 T20s so far, and this remains his only century in the format.
103 off 63 vs Oman, 2016
The left-handed opener is arguably the best batter Bangladesh have ever produced, but his numbers in the shortest format of the game aren’t great. Tamim averages just 24.08 and has a strike rate of 116.96, with just eight 50-plus scores in 78 T20Is. His only hundred came against a team like Oman in the first round of the 2016 T20 World Cup. As good as Tamim is in the other two formats, he has always been a mediocre T20 player,r and that’s why he is on this list.
