4 current cricketers who could break Aaron Finch's record of the highest individual score

Australian opening batsman, Aaron Finch, smashed the Zimbabwe bowlers to all the parts of the Harare Sports Club as he delivered an exquisite display of fierce hitting on Tuesday (July 04). He coupled brute force with exemplary skills so as to manoeuvre the ball expertly through the gaps, muscling his way to a record-breaking 172 off just 76 balls.

Finch was also involved in a record opening partnership of 223 runs with Big Bash sensation, D’Arcy Short, which is now the highest in T20 international cricket for any wicket. hosts Zimbabwe looked no match for the mighty Kangaroos, as they succumbed to a 100-run defeat despite getting off to a flyer in the second innings of the game.

Finch was in utmost control of the game and looked solid throughout, smashing a total of 16 fours and 10 sixes in his flabbergasting innings. He bettered his own previous record in the format, which came back in 2013, when he had scored 156 against England.

The right-hander missed out on becoming highest individual scorer across T20 cricket by a slim margin of 3 runs. Chris Gayle’s innings of unbeaten 175 runs that hit for RCB in the 2013 edition of IPL against Pune Warriors India remains at the top of the list. Ironically, it was Finch who lead the hapless PWI side that was taken to the cleaners by Gayle in that splendid innings.

Though it might sound unlikely at the moment, a number of current international batsmen have the ability to go one step ahead of this innings from the Australian. Here is the list of four players who could give Finch's record a run for its money.

Note: All stats are accurate as of 3rd July 2018

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#4 Martin Guptill

Guptill is one of the few batsmen who has scored 200 in the ODI format

Currently, the highest international run-scorer in the shortest format of the game, Martin Guptill packs the ability to steer past Finch's record of 172. In a T20I career that has spanned over 9 years, Guptill has scored a couple of centuries and 14 half-centuries to date.

The Kiwi opener is someone who plays straight batted shots with an exemplary degree of perfection. This continues to be his prime strength in the limited overs cricket, making him a great stroke-maker at the top of the order. When in flow, he becomes unstoppable and can take on any bowling attack, right from the word go.

The right-handed batsman is ranked 6th in the current T20I rankings.

With the knack of batting across all the innings, Guptill surely is a contender of breaking Finch's stupendous record. His ability to play with hard hands, coupled with his rich experience in the format, makes him a player to watch out for in T20 cricket.

# 3 Jos Buttler

The English batsman is a proven match-winner in limited overs cricket

Someone whose talent has never been under any sort of doubt, Jos Buttler has developed by leaps and bounds in the last couple of years.

Though he dons the role of a finisher for the national team more often than not, he showed his pedigree at the top of the order with his splendid performance as an opener for the Rajasthan Royals in the recently concluded IPL. It was his form that propelled an out-of-sorts RR into the playoffs of the tournament.

If he gets a chance to open the innings for his national team on a consistent basis, we might soon come across a news report that says he has overtaken Finch to claim the highest individual innings in T20I cricket.

Buttler's batting pyrotechnics lends him an upper hand over most batsmen of this era. The wicket-keeper batsman's ability to hit clean and big can surely help him gun down many records that are believed to be unbreakable at the moment.

# 2 Rohit Sharma

Rohit likes to bat deep and score big daddy hundreds

Rohit Sharma is right up there as one of the best batsmen around when it comes to ODI cricket, as he is the proud occupant of the top position on the list of the highest individual scores in 50-over cricket.

His ability to hit monstrous sixes at will makes him a threatening player to bowl to, especially in the shorter formats of the game.

With two centuries in the T20I cricket (one of them being fastest in the format), Sharma has all the potential to scale Finch's unbelievable feat. The Indian opener demolished Srilanka early this year with some sheer hitting brilliance, racing to a three-figure score in just 35 deliveries, smashing 12 fours and 10 sixes in the innings.

# 1 Colin Munro

Colin Munro is an exciting T20 player

The only man on the globe with 3 T20I centuries to his name, this man from New Zealand houses some serious hitting talent. Colin Munro is very much capable of destroying any opposition line-up with extreme ease and efficiency. He bats at a very impressive SR of 163.59 in the format, a stat reflects the way he goes about his job with the willow.

Munro has smashed the fastest fifty by a Kiwi in T20 cricket when he raced he achieved the feat in just 14 balls against Sri Lanka at Eden Park back in 2016.

His match-winning capacity is advocated by the number of brilliant performances dished out by him in different T20 leagues across the globe.