In the T20I format, batters have to score quick runs, and that too in a limited number of balls. So, we often see batters going bonkers from the word go to make the most out of it.
And despite the limited number of balls on offer, many batters have accumulated brilliant scores by shattering records. The openers have a bit of an upper hand when it comes to scoring big knocks. But a few notable batters have done the unthinkable by coming down the order.
On that note, let’s look at the highest scores smashed by batters at each batting position in T20Is.
Highest Scores at Each Batting Position in T20I
| Position/No. | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opener | Aaron Finch – 172 vs Zimbabwe, 2018 | Hazratullah Zazai – 162* vs Ireland, 2019 | Aaron Finch – 156 vs England, 2013 | Sacha De Alwis – 150* vs Brazil, 2024 | Glenn Maxwell – 145* vs Sri Lanka, 2016 |
| No. 3 | Kushal Malla – 137* vs Mongolia, 2023 | Brendon McCullum – 123 vs Bangladesh, 2012 | Brendan Taylor – 123 vs Botswana, 2025 | Babar Hayat – 122 vs Oman, 2016 | Tilak Varma – 120* vs South Africa, 2024 |
| No. 4 | Sahil Chauhan – 144* vs Cyprus, 2024 | Sikandar Raza – 133* vs Gambia, 2024 | Darius Visser – 132 vs Vanuatu, 2024 | Dewald Brevis – 125* vs Australia, 2025 | Andew Donovan – 122* vs South Korea, 2025 |
| No. 5 | David Miller – 106* vs India, 2022 | Sivakumar Periyalwar – 105* vs Turkey, 2019 | Sudesh Wickramasekara – 104* vs Turkey, 2019 | Varun Thamotharam – 104* vs Gibralter, 2021 | Mark Chapman – 104* vs Pakistan, 2023 |
| No. 6 | Shaheryar Butt – 125* vs Czech Republic, 2020 | Izaz Ali – 118 vs Serbia, 2025 | JJ Smit – 111* vs Kenya, 2025 | Md Ariyan – 90* vs Austria, 2025 | Sam Billings – 87 vs West Indies, 2019 |
| No. 7 | Mohammad Nabi – 89 vs Ireland, 2017 | Norman Vanua – 71 vs Singapore, 2022 | Andre Russell – 71 vs Australia, 2024 | Sher Sahak – 70* vs Guernsey, 2022 | Dinesh Nakrani – 67 vs Kenya, 2021 |
| No. 8 | Saber Zakhil – 100* vs Austria, 2021 | Isuru Udana – 84* vs South Africa, 2019 | Salum Jumbe – 76* vs Rwanda, 2023 | Mark Adair – 72 vs Scotland, 2023 | Jaskaran Singh – 60* vs USA, 2025 |
| No. 9 | Hamid Safi – 58* vs Slovenia, 2025 | Tanzim Hasan Sakib – 50 vs Pakistan, 2025 | Mukesh Thakur – 49 vs Indonesia, 2024 | Ali Nayyer – 48* vs France, 2022 | Naseem Khushi – 47* vs Canada, 2022 |
| No. 10 | Lansana Lamin – 52* vs Eswatini, 2024 | Shakeel Ahmed – 45 vs Netherlands, 2024 | Akeal Hosein – 44* vs England, 2022 | Fitri Sham – 40* vs Bhutan, 2022 | Sompal Kami – 40 vs Hong Kong, 2014 |
| No. 11 | Khalid Ahmadi – 31* vs Malta, 2021 | Paul van Meekeren – 24 vs Bangladesh, 2022 | Obed McCoy – 23* vs New Zealand, 2022 | Kepler Lukies – 23* vs Indonesia, 2023 | Azmatullah Omarzai – 21 vs Pakistan, 2023 |
Key Insights on Highest Individual Scores Across T20I Batting Positions
Top-Order and Highest T20I Scores
Australia’s Aaron Finch sits at the top with the highest-ever individual score in T20Is, hammering 172 against Zimbabwe in 2018.
Finch’s 172 is also the highest as an opening batter. And he is also the only batter with two 150+ scores in T20Is.
India’s prolific batter Rohit Sharma has smashed five centuries, the most as an opener in T20Is. (You can check out Rohit’s T20I hundreds here.)
Middle-Order Highest Scores in T20Is
Nepal’s Kushal Malla scored an unbeaten 137 at No. 3 and brought up his 100 runs off 34 balls against Mongolia in 2023. This is the fastest century by a No. 3 batter in the T20I format.
Estonia’s Sahil Chauhan, meanwhile, has hammered the fastest century among all batters in T20Is. He took 27 balls to bring up his hundred before remaining not out on 144 against Cyprus in 2024.
Chauhan’s 144 is the highest score at No. 4 in T20Is. His knock included 18 sixes, the most by a batter in a T20I innings.
123 by New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum (vs Bangladesh) and Zimbabwe’s Brendan Taylor (vs Botswana) at No. 3 is the joint-highest individual score by a wicketkeeper-batter in T20Is.
McCullum’s 123 against Bangladesh in 2012 is also the highest individual score in T20 World Cup history.
South Africa’s David Miller is the only batter with two centuries while batting at No. 5 in T20Is. His first hundred came against Bangladesh in 2017 – 101 not out in 36 balls – which was the then-fastest T20I century (35 balls to 100). The next came against India in 2022 – 106 not out off 47 balls – which is the highest score at No. 5 in T20Is.
Lower-Order T20I Batting Highs (No. 6 or Below)
Only four batters have scored 100 or more runs in a T20I innings while coming to bat in the No. 6 or lower position.
Among them, Belgium’s Shaheryar Butt has the highest score at No. 6, smashing an unbeaten 125 off 50 balls to take his side’s total from 41 for 4 to 197 for 6 against Czech Republic in 2020.
Another Belgian, Saber Zakhil, has recorded the only T20I century at No. 8. His unbeaten 100 off 47 balls lifted Belgium from 14 for 6 to 146 for 8 against Austria in 2021.
Only three batters have brought up a fifty at the No. 9 or lower position in T20Is. Among them, Sierra Leone’s No. 10, Lansana Lamin, was the first to cross to the 50-run mark against Eswatini in 2024.
Hamid Safi’s unbeaten 58 for Austria against Slovenia in 2025 is the fastest fifty by a No. 9 batter in T20Is. He crossed the 50-run mark off 16 deliveries to take his side from 128 for 7 to 223 for 8. Safi’s knock included seven sixes, the most by a No. 9 batter in a T20I innings.
Read Next | Most Centuries in Losing Cause in Test
