Unexpectedly, the pitches in Australia have been quite hard to score runs. Fans were expecting to see targets in excess of 200 being chased down. But, they have witnessed totals of 150 or even lesser being defended.
It’s evidence of the challenges posed by the Aussie strips for the batters. However, not every batter has struggled in these testing conditions. Some of them have been on top of their game, and here, we will discuss the best of them.
This blog will tell you about the top 5 performers with the bat in the super-12 round. So, let’s go!
1) Suryakumar Yadav
It’s hard to argue that SKY was by far the best batsman in the super-12 stages. Not only was he the 2nd highest run-getter in the round, but his strike rate of almost 194 is miles ahead of the others. His 225 runs at an average of 75 in 5 innings convert to a SportiScore of 202.67.
All of the SKY’s 5 innings in the ongoing World Cup have come at a strike rate of 150 or higher. Two of his knocks (51* off 25 and 61* off 25) had a strike rate of 204 and 244, respectively. However, his best performance so far came against a strong South African pace attack as he slammed 68 runs on 40 balls in highly testing conditions.
The consistency of scoring runs at such a brisk pace is matchless in T20 history. So, SKY’s place at the top of the best batters’ list is justified by every stat you may want to look at.
2) Glenn Philips
Philips is essentially an opener, but New Zealand have slotted him into the middle order for this tournament. The move has undoubtedly paid dividends to them, as Phillips has made the most out of it.
The right-hander didn’t start the tournament well, as he was dismissed for a 12-ball 10 against the Aussies. But, in the following match vs. Sri Lanka, Phillips played the innings of his life. When New Zealand found themselves in tatters at 15 for 3, Phillips started the rescue act initially but then unleashed his power-hitting abilities.
He ended with a tremendous knock of 102 of 64 balls and helped his team secure an easy win. Phillips’ incredible form continued against England as he plundered a 36-ball 62. In their last game of the round vs. Ireland, he scored 17 off 9.
So, after the first match, Phillips has come to the party in each game and has been the most vital member of the New Zealand batting lineup. His 189 runs in 4 innings have been scored at an average of 48.75 and an SR of 163.87. These amazing numbers have resulted in a SportiScore of 127.82 batting for him, and he has become Sportiqo’s second-best batter in the super-12 stages.
3) Virat Kohli
What comes to your mind right now after reading this name? I bet you are thinking about his masterclass at the MCG, and that’s how T20 World Cup started for him. After playing one of all-time great T20 innings against Pakistan (82* off 53), he kept accumulating the bulk of runs.
In the following match against the Netherlands, he played another fine knock and made 62* off 44. The third game vs. the Proteas resulted in a rare failure for him as he departed for just 12(11). But it’s hard to keep Kohli quiet for long in such great form.
It was verified against Bangladesh, where he scored his 3rd half-century in 4 games. This time, he stayed unbeaten on 64 while facing 44 deliveries. The last game of the super-12 round was not a great one for him as he could manage just 26 runs off 25 balls.
Overall in 5 innings, he has scored 246 runs while getting dismissed just twice. That’s why he is averaging 123 in this tournament which is way in front of all the other batsmen. His strike rate of 138.98 has also been impressive, and he has accumulated 111 SportiScore points for his batting. These points could be lesser than your expectations, but the reason is a couple of slow knocks that he played.
4) Marcus Stoinis
In Australia’s ordinary World Cup campaign, Stoinis has been like a shining star for them. Like his team, he also started his World Cup journey on a real low against New Zealand. He struggled to a 14-ball 7 as the Aussies were defeated by a heavy margin.
But, Stoinis put the harsh memories behind him and came out all guns blazing against Sri Lanka. He smashed 59* off 18 balls with the help of four 4s and six gigantic 6s. This cameo helped Australia chase down 158 with ease when they were struggling before his arrival.
In his last two innings vs. Ireland and Afghanistan, he managed 35(25) and 25(21), respectively. These two performances took his aggregate of runs to 126 in 4 matches at a super impressive average & strike rate of 42 & 161.54. These performances mean that his SportiScore for the Super 12 round is 96.
5) Rilee Rossouw
“Go big or go home” has been Rossouw’s mantra in this World T20 in Australia. After bashing Bangladesh for a 56-ball 109, he fell for a two-ball duck vs. India and a 6-ball 7 against Pakistan. Then, he finished the super-12 round with a decent outing vs. the Netherlands, as he managed 25 off 19 balls. So, three out of his four batting shows in the tournament were quite ordinary.
The highlight for him was his first knock of the World Cup, where he put on one of the finest individual performances of the super-12 round. His ton included 7 fours and 8 maximums and came at a destructive strike rate of 195.
In his 4 outings, Rossouw piled up 141 runs while averaging 35.25 and striking almost 170. Consequently, his overall score was 81.7 as per the SportiScore formula.
