Stats: Highest score by a batsman on T20I debut

Playing your first game for your country can be incredibly nerve-wracking. Especially in a format like T20 where you have to get going from the outset and don’t have too much time to settle in. So it isn’t surprising that despite over 600 T20Is being played since the format’s inception in 2005 only 15 players have scored a fifty on their T20I debut.

Ajinkya Rahane holds the Indian record for the highest score on T20I debut he only has the joint-tenth highest score on debut in the format. While no batsman has ever scored a century on debut, there have been a few who have come close, much like England’s Dawid Malan.

In the third T20I against South Africa, the southpaw got off to a memorable start and makes it into the top five highest scores by a batsman on T20I debut.

Here are the five highest scores by a batsman on T20I debut:

#5 Junaid Siddique – 71 vs Pakistan

Junaid Siddique may have only played seven T20Is in his career but he had a memorable start in which he scored just under half of the runs that he managed in his entire T20I career. He made his debut in the 2007 World T20 against Pakistan and got his side off to the perfect start. It still wasn’t enough as they lost to Pakistan by four wickets.

The southpaw opened the innings along with Tamim Iqbal and although he lost his partner early, he ensured that his side got a decent platform. Before he got out in the 15^th over, not only had Bangladesh recovered to 112/4, he had also scored 71 from just 49 balls, a knock that included six fours and three sixes.

His 49-ball 71 was the main reason behind Bangladesh’s total of 140. Although Pakistan chased it down comfortably, it gave Siddique the perfect start to his T20I career. Unfortunately, he only played six more matches after that and at 29, will be hoping that he gets the opportunity to represent his country again.

#4 Rilee Rossouw – 78 vs Australia and Dawid Malan 78 vs England

Malan enjoyed a memorable debut against South Africa

In fourth place is South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw and England’s David Malan. Playing in his maiden T20I in the third match between England and South Africa, the 29-year-old made the most of his recent good form as he not only beame the first Englishman to score a fifty on T20I debut but also registered the fourth-best score by a batsman on debut.

After coming in to bat at the fall of Jason Roy’s early wicket, Malan smashed a 44-ball 78 that included 12 fours and two sixes and helped his side post 181/8 in their 20 overs. Consistent performances for the England Lions ensured that the 29-year-old finally got his chance and the southpaw certainly made the most of it.

Although he fell short of becoming the first batsman to score a century on T20I debut, he joined Rossouw in fourth place on the list of highest scores on T20I debut. The South African batsman made his T20I debut against Australia in November 2014 in the first T20I.

Chasing 145 for victory, the southpaw came in to bat in the first over after Reeze Hendricks was dismissed for a duck and scored a 50-ball 78 to help South Africa cruise to a seven-wicket victory.

#3 Hiral Patel – 88 vs Ireland

Canada opener Hiral came close to making history in just his first T20I, against Ireland in February 2010. At the time, he was just 18 and was opening the batting along with the experienced Rizwan Cheema but there was no doubt about who was the better player on that day.

Patel smashed a brilliant unbeaten 88 to help his side post 176/3 in 20 overs, which proved to be just enough as Canada won by four runs. He even bowled a solitary over but it was his knock with the bat that helped his side that had five T20I debutants sneak home.

A composed knock that promised a great deal, Hiral Patel’s 61-ball 88 included nine fours and two sixes and is still the third-highest score by a batsman on T20I debut. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to kick on from his incredible start as he has played just 10 more T20Is since then and failed to score a single fifty after that.

#2 David Warner – 89 vs South Africa

David Warner announced himself to the world courtesy of his 43-ball 89 against South Africa. Right then, everyone knew that there was a tough diamond that could shine for years to come. But what few saw was that opening batsman could showcase his incredible hitting prowess on a consistent basis across all formats.

If Warner came into the international arena as a T20 specialist, he has transformed himself into one of the best openers in the world across all formats. It all began with a blitzkreig against South Africa that even his ardent fans couldn’t have foreseen on his T20I debut.

Against a Proteas bowling attack that had Makhaya Ntini and Dale Steyn, Warner simply smashed his way to the second-highest score by a batsman on T20I debut. Six sixes and seven fours on debut at the MCG was how Warner announced himself in international cricket, but even that wasn’t enough to claim top spot.

#1 Ricky Ponting – 98* vs New Zealand

Over 600 T20Is have been played since the very first match in the format way back in 2005. But a record that was created in the first T20I still stands to this day. And that belongs to the legendary Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who still has the record for the highest score by a batsman on T20I debut.

No player has scored a century on T20I debut but Ponting came closest of anyone, in the very first match of the format. Coming in at No.4, the Australian batsman compiled an exquisite 55-ball 98 as he helped his side register 214/5 in 20 overs and eventually win by 44 runs.

One of the greatest batsman that the game has ever seen still holds this record and it remains to be seen if it is broken anytime soon.