Apart from its basics, T20 batting is essentially about hitting fours and sixes. You can pinch quick singles to reduce dot balls and turn one into two, but the team that hits more fours and sixes generally wins more matches in the shortest format.
As we gear up for a non-stop dose of T20 cricket over the next three months – the IPL has just started and the T20 World Cup takes place in June – it is this skill of bouncing the ball in and out of the boundary that needs to be in sharp focus. Remember that India’s last two semi-final defeats in the T20 World Cup – against West Indies and England in 2016 and 2022 respectively – have been cases of lackluster batting.
So, which Indian players are the best at hitting boundaries consistently?
As per Cricviz data IPL 2022, the batsman to lead is Rajasthan Royals’ Yashasvi Jaiswal, The 22-year-old has faced 601 balls for 922 runs in 27 matches, hitting 116 fours and 37 sixes, resulting in an excellent boundary percentage of 25.45. Among batsmen who have scored a minimum of 500 runs, only Australia’s Glenn Maxwell has a higher frequency of 26%.
Jaiswal does not immediately come across as a combative striker of the ball. But since enjoying a bumper IPL 2023, where he got the better of opening partner and England white-ball captain Jos Buttler, he has built his reputation as an explosive batsman, capable of banging from the start Is. A strike rate of 152.28 in the powerplay establishes this. And once he gets off to a good start, even the middle overs don’t bother him. While Jaiswal has one of the best fours percentage at 19.3%, he is also quite adept at crossing the boundary. This came to the fore in India’s recent Test series against England, when Jaiswal’s 712 runs included a record 26 sixes.
It is no surprise that Suryakumar Yadav ranks second in terms of hitting boundaries – he has hit a four or a six in 24.35% of the 542 balls he has faced. He is yet to return to competitive action following a hernia operation, and Mumbai Indians are missing the services of the world’s top-ranked T20 batsman. Nowhere was this more serious than in the previous game against Rajasthan Royals, where defeat was almost certain after reaching 20/4 inside four overs.
The balance in this format may naturally tilt towards the batsmen, but it is still important to have shots covering a 360-degree range to avoid pressure. This is where Suryakumar particularly stands out among Indian players, with his trademark flicks and paddle behind the wicket resulting in a high percentage of runs.
Although Dinesh Karthik’s international career (his boundary percentage is 23.8%) is probably behind him, the presence of Jitesh Sharma, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma among the batsmen who hit the most number of boundaries could cause interesting discussions in the coming weeks. Jitesh and Samson were part of India’s last T20 series against Afghanistan as wicketkeeper-batsmen. Meanwhile, Abhishek is a young left-handed batsman whose T20 stock seems to be rising. A week ago, he played a brilliant inning of 63 runs in 23 balls with the help of three fours and seven sixes, helping SRH score 277 runs against Mumbai Indians.
Also relevant is the impressive numbers of Rinku Singh and Shivam Dubey, who are both strong candidates for the T20 World Cup. While Rinku has hit boundaries on 19.69% of her balls, the figure for Dubey is slightly less at 18.95. Dubey’s 57 sixes in 517 balls give him a six-hit percentage of 11.03, the best among Indians in the last three seasons. If the pitches in the Caribbean are as slow as expected, Dube’s ability to clear the fence in the middle overs is a trait that should be seriously considered.
What about Rohit and Virat?
Rohit Sharma has not been a prolific scorer for MI in the last three seasons and has scored only 669 runs in 33 matches at an average of 20.27. But if it is about attacking the bowlers and taking away the game on a particular day, the Indian captain has the ability to make a difference – he has hit more than 20% of his balls to boundaries since IPL 2022. When he scored an unbeaten 121 off 69 balls against Afghanistan in January, the 36-year-old hit 11 fours and eight sixes, with 92 of his runs – 76% – coming from boundaries. With the uncertainty over his place in India’s squad for the T20 World Cup over, Rohit will be hoping to make a similar impact in the US and the Caribbean.
If there is more than one way to skin a cat even in T20, then Virat Kohli is an example of a batsman who is not a ruthless boundary-hitter. An average of 51.75 and strike rate of 138.15 after 117 T20Is point to his pedigree, but 114 fours and 32 sixes in 894 balls since 2022 mean he is only hitting boundaries on 16.33% of the balls he bowls. As the shortest format continues to evolve and batsmen are encouraged to challenge boundaries, will their approach be as effective as India aim to win the T20 World Cup? Let’s wait and see.
