KL Rahul has had a stunning start to his T20I career after proving himself in the other two formats. He averaged around 90 in his first T20I year, including a swashbuckling century against the West Indies.
The first-choice Indian opening batsman has been one of the consistent performers in the Indian line-up over the years. His two centuries and numerous fifties put him in the top ten list of the most century– and fifty-plus scorers in the shortest format.
This article will, however, look at KL Rahul’s year-wise batting performance in T20I cricket.
KL Rahul - T20I Runs Year-wise
| Year | Runs | Innings | Average | Strike Rate | High Score | 50s/100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 179 | 4 | 89.50 | 159.82 | 110* | 0/1 |
| 2017 | 279 | 7 | 39.85 | 140.90 | 89 | 3/0 |
| 2018 | 324 | 11 | 36.00 | 149.30 | 101* | 1/1 |
| 2019 | 356 | 9 | 44.50 | 142.40 | 91 | 4/0 |
| 2020 | 404 | 10 | 44.88 | 140.76 | 57* | 4/0 |
| 2021 | 289 | 11 | 28.90 | 130.76 | 69 | 4/0 |
| 2022 | 434 | 16 | 28.93 | 126.53 | 62 | 6/0 |
| Overall | 2265 | 68 | 37.75 | 139.12 | 110* | 22/2 |
More KL Rahul Stats
KL Rahul – Captaincy Record – Test, ODI, T20I, & IPL
KL Rahul – Test Runs against Each Team
KL Rahul – Test Runs in Each Country
KL Rahul – Test Runs by Batting Position
KL Rahul – Test Runs Year-wise
KL Rahul – ODI Runs by Batting Position
KL Rahul – T20I Runs Year-wise
Key Insights on KL Rahul’s T20I Career Stats by Year
Promising Start in 2016 and First T20I Ton
KL Rahul started his T20I career with a golden duck against Zimbabwe in 2016.
This made him the first Indian batter to earn a golden duck, out on the first ball on zero, on T20I debut.
Rahul, however, scored his maiden T20I hundred in his fourth innings, an unbeaten 110 from 51 balls against the West Indies in the 2016 Florida T20I. This is the second-highest individual score for India against the West Indies in T20Is.
Rahul’s unbeaten 110 is the third-highest individual score by an Indian batter in a losing T20I match, though. Despite his top efforts, India failed to chase down 246 runs against the Windies.
As a result, India’s 244 for 4 also became the highest team total in a losing cause in T20Is.
Rahul ended 2016 with 179 runs across four innings. He had an average of 89.50, the fifth-highest by an Indian batter in a calendar year in T20Is (minimum 100 balls faced).
2017 was a decent year, where he maintained consistency across seven outings, scoring 279 runs at a strike rate of 140.90.
Hundred against England and An Inconsistent Run
Rahul scored his second T20I century in 2018, this one against England in Manchester. He smashed an unbeaten 101 from 54 balls at a strike rate of 187.03.
Rahul’s unbeaten 101 was the first-ever hundred by an Indian batter against England in T20Is.
He had a 70-run knock against Ireland in Dublin just a few days before his hundred. These were the only two innings where he crossed the 30-run mark in 2018.
He wrapped up 2018 with 324 runs in 11 outings at a slightly better strike rate of 149.30.
2019 saw KL Rahul complete his 1000 runs in the shortest format. He took 29 innings to achieve the mark, making him the third-fastest to score 1000 T20I runs for India.
He closed out 2019 with 356 runs and four fifties at a slightly dropped strike rate of 142.40.
Consistent Performance in the 2020s
Rahul had a consistent run in 2020, scoring 25 or more runs in nine consecutive innings of the 10 he batted in, though his strike rate went above 150 only once.
And the only instance of his strike rate crossing 150 was when he smashed a 23-ball half-century against New Zealand in Auckland.
Rahul ended the 2020 New Zealand tour with 224 runs across five matches. This is the fourth-most runs by an Indian batter in a bilateral T20I series.
Overall, he scored 404 runs, including four fifties, in 10 innings at a strike rate of 140.76 in 2020.
In the 2021 T20 World Cup, Rahul was India’s top run-scorer. He aggregated 194 runs in five innings at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 152.75.
He scored three fifties in the tournament, including an 18-ball half-century against Scotland, the fastest for him in the T20I format.
Rahul enjoyed his best year in terms of runs in 2022, though he played with an inferior strike rate of 126.53. His strike rate dropped by four points from his 130.76 in 2021.
This makes Rahul one of the three Indian batters to maintain a strike rate of 131 or below in two calendar years (minimum 200 balls faced).
He scored six fifties, along with 434 runs, in 16 innings in 2022, the joint-fourth most by an Indian batter in a calendar year in T20Is.
In between, Rahul surpassed the 2000-run mark in 58 innings, making him the third-fastest Indian batter to reach the landmark in T20Is.
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