The T20 Asia Cup pits the best Asian sides against each other. What makes a team stand out is the solid batting performances from its batters.
And the T20 Asia Cup isn’t short on impactful knocks. Batters from heavyweights and associates have built some stellar knocks that fans still cherish.
In this article, we’ll look at five of the best batting performances in the T20 Asia Cup.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka): 71* vs Pakistan | 2022
It’s the final of the Asia Cup. Your top order is already back in the hut even before the powerplay could finish.
You’d perhaps feel the heat when you walk into such a situation. Even Bhanuka Rajapaksa would’ve felt the same. But he handled the pressure with ease.
Early on, he showed patience. At the halfway mark, Rajapaksa was 20 off 17 – not flashy, but smart given the ball was moving around.
Once the pitch settled, the left-hander shifted gears. The occasional boundaries started to come in, taking his score to 50 off 35.
In the next 10 deliveries, Rajapaksa added 21 runs, finishing on an unbeaten 71. From 36 for 3, he helped Sri Lanka recover to 170, which once looked like a dream. The bowlers did the rest, wrapping up Pakistan on 147 to lift their sixth Asia Cup title.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (Afghanistan): 84 vs Sri Lanka | 2022
A few matches earlier in the tournament, Sri Lanka were on the receiving end. They were taken for a ride by a young Rahmanullah Gurbaz.
The Afghan batter was in good touch coming into the match. And Sharjah dished out an absolutely flat pitch. No less than a paradise for batters, isn’t it?
So Gurbaz made the most of the conditions early on in the match. He took the attack to the Lankan bowlers, hitting them for sixes and fours. Plenty of them. The right-hand opener raced to his fifty off 22 deliveries!
Then he slowed down, as did the pitch. The boundaries from his bat dried up, though he kept the scorecard ticking.
Eventually, Gurbaz fell for 84 off 45 while trying for a big shot. His knock helped Afghanistan post 175 runs, which they couldn’t defend. Still, it was a knock that showed just how dangerous Gurbaz can be.
Suryakumar Yadav (India): 68* vs Hong Kong | 2022
Before Gurabaz lit up Sharjah, Suryakumar Yadav had already stolen the show in Dubai.
On a relatively good surface to bat, India were staring at a par score against Hong Kong. With seven overs to go, India’s batting needed a boost.
Then Suryakumar happened. He was off the mark with two crisp fours. Then came his 360-degree fireworks. Scoops, slashes, and lofted drives – you name it, he played it.
The highlight? Surya hit 6 sixes in his knock, four of which came in the 20th over. That over alone fetched him 26 runs.
Surya walked back unbeaten on 68 off 26 balls, lifting India from 94 for 2 in the 13th over to 192 for 2 in the 20th over. The total was, obviously, way out of Hong Kong’s reach.
Virat Kohli (India): 122* vs Afghanistan | 2022
Virat Kohli watched Surya go on a rampage against Hong Kong from the other end. A few matches later, Kohli’s turn came up against Afghanistan.
And Kohli gets going, you sit back and enjoy. He played out a typical knock, as you’d expect of him, to end his century drought.
First, Kohli built a solid base, getting to his fifty in 32 balls. In the next 29 balls, he flipped the script. The boundaries started to flow in more frequently, taking him to his maiden T20I century off 53 balls.
The accumulation didn’t end there. Kohli added 22 runs in the next eight balls to remain unbeaten on 122 while taking India to 212 for 2.
Babar Hayat (Hong Kong): 122 vs Oman | 2016
Before Kohli, Hong Kong’s Babar Hayat breached the triple-digit figure in the T20 Asia Cup. In a match full of drama, Hayat kept his team on course.
Chasing 180 wasn’t a common sight back in 2016. So Hong Kong knew it was a tough task.
But Hayat? He showed them hope despite no support from the other end.
Wickets tumbled around him. But his aggression didn’t come down even a bit. He hit 9 fours and 7 sixes on his way to an excellent hundred.
When the win looked within sight, Hayat handed a catch, ending a well-made knock on 122. In the end, Hong Kong fell short by five runs.
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