With the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup right around the corner, it’s time to look at some of the best innings played by the Men in Green over the eight global events of cricket’s shortest format.
While the Shaheens’ current lineup may not look as lethal as the rest of the competition, Pakistanis have a knack for putting on a show time and time again on the big stage. Here are the 5 best innings by Pakistani batters in the T20 World Cup.
Misbah Humbles Aussies at Johannesburg (2007 T20I World Cup)
If we can ignore his cursed scoop shot, Misbah-ul-Haq was one of the most dangerous T20 batsmen in the world back then. This was evident in the inaugural T20 World Cup where he played several hard-hitting knocks to take Pakistan into the finals.
One of his very best innings was against the Aussies. Coming in at six-down, Misbah lit up the Aussie bowling attack, smashing an unbeaten 66 off 42 balls to chase down Australia’s total of 164 with 5 balls to spare.
Shadab Khan Goes Berserk on Proteas (2022 T20I World Cup)
Pakistan was all but out of the 2022 World Cup following heartbreaking losses against arch-rivals India and minnows Zimbabwe. The team needed something spectacular to secure a win against an unbeaten South African side in Sydney.
Enter Shadab Khan, who came onto bat when Pakistan was 95 for 5 with Iftikhar Ahmed barely able to hold the innings together. Shadab smashed a quickfire half-century off 22 balls that featured 4 jaw-dropping sixes and 3 fours to help Pakistan put up a daunting total of 185. In response, the Proteas were left shell-shocked, scoring only 108 runs.
Ahmed Shehzad Smashes Pakistan’s First T20 World Cup Century (2014 T20I World Cup)
A once-promising opener, Ahmed Shehzad was hailed as the “Pakistani Virat Kohli.” Looking back at his innings against Bangladesh at the 2014 World Cup, it’s easy to see why.
Ahmed Shehzad played a sublime innings at Mirpur, destroying the hosts Bangladesh in an unbeaten 62-ball knock of 111. To this day, he remains the only Pakistani batsman to score a century in a T20 World Cup.
Boom Boom Afridi Demolishes Lankan Lions at Lords (2009 T20I World Cup)
This innings will forever be etched in Pakistani fans’ memories. After the heartbreak of 2007, Pakistan came back with a vengeance in the 2009 T20I World Cup in England, spearheaded by Shahid Afridi, who was in the form of his life.
This was the World Cup where “Boom Boom Afridi” truly realized his potential, delivering match-winning performances throughout the tournament. In the final against Sri Lanka, Afridi took the attack to the opposition after coming one-down in Pakistan’s chase of 139.
Up against the likes of Malinga, Mendis, and the great Muralitharan, Shahid Afridi looked unfazed as he played a very mature knock of 52 off 40 bowls to take the Shaheens to their first-ever T20 world title.
The Babar-Rizwan Show at the Emirates (2021 T20I World Cup)
It takes a special kind of player to make Virat Kohli an afterthought in an India-Pakistan game. For the Men in Green, it was a tie between Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Babar, played a classy knock of 68, while Rizwan blitzed through the Indian bowlers with his 79 off just 52 bowls. The duo proved why they were the very best in the world as they smashed Kohli and his men all around the park in an unbeaten partnership, silencing the rowdy Indian crowd in Dubai to mark Pakistan’s first-ever victory over arch-rivals India at a World Cup in emphatic fashion with 10 wickets in hand and 13 bowls to spare.
Which Pakistani innings was your favourite? Let us know in the comments below.
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