5 highest individual scores in T20 history

T20 cricket is now almost 15 years old after its start in English domestic cricket. Popularity at the 2007 T20 World Cup quickly saw many large domestic leagues starting around the world. The highest individual scores records were broken around every year between 2003 and 2008. Interestingly, the current record has been held since 2013.

Here are five of the highest knocks notched by batsmen in the shortest format of the game. Even though T20 cricket is being played both internationally and domestically, all of these leading individual scores have only come from domestic competitions.

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#5 Brendon McCullum - 158* (73)

In 2008, former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum hit an unbeaten 158 against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural Indian Premier League.

Playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders he opened the batting and helped his side to a commanding 140 runs victory. They were set a target of 223, but RCB were dismissed for just 80 runs.

What was even more impressive is that no one else in the KKR innings passed 20 meaning that McCullum scored 71.2% of the team's runs. Equally, after a fast start to the innings, his speed dropped and then he finished quickly at the end.

McCullum's record innings broke that of Cameron White by 17 runs, and he held the record for five years until Chris Gayle passed it also in the IPL. His strike rate of 246.87 is also only bettered by Gayle in this top five.

#4 Brendon McCullum - 158* (64)

McCullum flexing his muscles at Edgbaston

Over seven years after his first record, Brendon McCullum matched his 158 in the Natwest T20 Blast at Edgbaston. His score for the Birmingham Bears was nine balls less than the previous record in what was the highest individual score in England.

His 13 fours and 11 sixes lifted Birmingham to 242-2 and the Derbyshire Falcons were bowled out for 182 in reply. It was the first century by a Birmingham player in the tournament and surpassed domestic records by Graham Napier and Luke Wright.

The visiting captain decided to bowl and would have soon regretted his decision when the Bears' openers McCullum and Varun Chopra had 50 on the board in 25 balls. They added 160 from 79 balls before McCullum moved into overdrive.

#3 Adam Lyth - 161 (73)

Lyth dispatching the ball to the leg-side boundary

In 2017, McCullum's English domestic record was broken by fellow opening batsman Adam Lyth. The Yorkshire Viking's 161 helped his side to a T20 domestic best of 260-4, just three short of the world record total of 263-3.

The White Rose set the Northants Steelbacks a target of 261, but the visitors eventually lost by 124 runs after a promising start.

Lyth put on 127 with Tom Kohler-Cadmore for the first wicket and then 124 with David Willey for the second wicket. He hitting seven sixes and 20 fours from only 73 balls, despite only becoming a T20 regular in the season prior.

Steelbacks's pace bowler Ben Sanderson’s figures of 0-77 from four overs were the second-most expensive in T20 history.

#2 Hamilton Masakadza - 162* (71)

Hamilton Masakadza is one of Zimbabwe's best ever batsmen

Second on the list is Zimbabwe batsman Hamilton Masakadza, who scored 162 not out for Mountaineers against Mashonaland Eagles in the Zimbabwe's domestic T20 competition.

Masakadza did not take long to start firing, smashing 16 runs from the first over and reached his fifty from only 24 balls. The next 112 runs came from only 47 balls in which he slammed 14 fours and 11 sixes at a strike-rate of 228.16 runs per hundred balls.

He reached his 150 in the penultimate over but he did not face a single ball of the final over. Despite this, Mountaineers posted 242 for 3 and the Eagles could only manage 107 for 9 from 12.1 overs in reply in a rain-affected match.

#1 Chris Gayle - 175* (66)

Gayle goes on the rampage

Nicknamed the 'Universe Boss', Chris Gayle stands alone at the top of this list. In 2013, he posted an astonishing 175 from only 66 balls in the IPL. He helped the Royal Challengers Bangalore to a 130 runs victory over the Pune Warriors.

Not only was it the highest score it was also the fastest T20 hundred (30 balls) and the joint-highest T20 team score (263). His strike rate of 265.15 is the best of anyone that has scored over 150.

The only interruption to Gayle's onslaught was a 33-minute rain delay, before which he had warmed up with two boundaries off Manish Pandey, and proceeded to strike him for three more in the same over after the break.

The innings was supported by opener Tillakaratne Dilshan, who was part of a 167-run opening stand in which the Sri Lankan only made 33.

The next IPL will see the fifth anniversary of this record and it still remains to be beaten. With Gayle the only one likely to break his own record, and his career coming towards its end, it may not be overtaken for a long time.