Aaron Finch completes 3,000 runs in T20I cricket
Oct 09, 2022
Perth [Australia], October 9 : Australian batter and skipper Aaron Finch completed 3,000 runs in T20I cricket on Sunday, becoming the first Australian and only the sixth player to do so.
He accomplished this feat during his side's first T20I against England in Perth.
Finch scored 12 off 7 balls in the match, hitting a huge six before he was run out by the duo of Sam Curran and skipper Jos Buttler.
Now in 98 matches, the opener has 3,000 runs at an average of 34.48. Two centuries and 18 half-centuries have come out of his bat. The best individual score of Finch in this format is 172.
This year Finch has scored 392 runs in 15 innings at an average of 28.00. Three half-centuries have been scored by the batter this year, with best score of 61*.
Other than him, five more batters have scored 3,000 runs in T20I cricket. Rohit Sharma (3,737) is the leading run scorer in the format, followed by Virat Kohli (3,712), New Zealand veteran Martin Guptill (3,497), Star Pakistani batter Babar Azam (3,140), Ireland opener Paul Stirling (3,011).
Coming to the match, top knocks from Alex Hales (84) and skipper Jos Buttler (68) and a fiery spell from pacer Mark Wood (3/34) powered England to an eight-run win over Australia in the first T20I on Sunday.
Half-centuries from Hales and Buttler powered England to 208/6 in their 20 overs. Hales and Buttler added 132 runs for the first wicket. But it was pacers Nathan Ellis (3/20), Kane Richardson, Daniel Sams, Marcus Stoinis (one wicket each) that put brakes on England's run flow and they could not score much in the second half of the innings.
Chasing 209, opener David Warner (73) top scored for Aussies. Knocks from Mitchell Marsh (36), Marcus Stoinis (35) also kept Australia in the hunt but the hosts fell short of 8-runs of victory. Pacer Mark Wood (3/34) was the leading bowler for England. Sam Curran (2/35) and Reece Topley (2/36) also performed well for England.
Alex Hales was given the 'Man of the Match' award for his match-winning knock.