T20 cricket has often divided opinion on which sort of innings is more pivotal to the team’s chances – on whether a top-order batsman contributing a 45 ball 60 is more important, or whether one of the big-hitters contributing a quick fire cameo at a sky-high strike rate has more value. Naturally, both sort of innings are important in ensuring a team manages to pull off the victory – that batsman who acts like a glue which holds the innings together or the slam-bang stuff from the powerful hitters coming in towards the later stage. SPORTZWIKI takes a look at the Top 5 batsmen with best strike rate in IPL history.
5. James Faulkner (Strike Rate : 151.26)
The swashbuckling Rajasthan Royals all-rounder is known for his ability of swinging the long handle and whacking the ball into the stands. With 601 runs in the IPL at a strike rate of 151.26, Faulkner takes the 5th spot in SPORTZWIKI’s Top 5 batsmen with best strike rate in IPL history.
4. David Miller (Strike Rate : 151.77)
Glenn Maxwell might have been doing the early damage for Kings XI Punjab with his blitz, but David Miller has been responsible for ensuring the Maxwell juggernaut has an end product to it all, finishing matches calmly with his uninhibited brand of strokeplay. David Miller is a great exponent of the saying – “When it is V, it is in the tree; when it is in the arc, it is out of the park.” And with a strike rate of 151.77, Miller stands 4th in SPORTZWIKI’s Top 5 batsmen with best strike rate in IPL history.
3. Chris Gayle (Strike Rate : 154.56)
Where Chris Gayle is head and shoulders above the rest is in the fact that the man from Jamaica can both be the glue at the top of the order and be the destructive finisher in the latter stage of the innings, combining controlled aggression with brutal strokeplay with elegance and ease. Chris Gayle has been an impact player for the RCB in the past three seasons of the IPL and continues to remain a danger man as far as opposition bowlers are concerned.
2. Virender Sehwag (Strike Rate : 157.23)
Virender Sehwag is either scoring runs or not scoring runs – but players of the caliber of Sehwag are never out of form. It only takes the Nawab of Nazafgarh a sighter or two to get himself going, and on his day, India’s two-time triple centurion can make mince meat out of some of the best bowling attacks in the world. Sehwag’s strike rate of 160.32 remains the most impressive of all batsmen in IPL history earning Viru the No. 2nd spot in SPORTZWIKI’s Top 5 batsmen with best strike rate in IPL history.
1. Glenn Maxwell (Strike Rate : 178.33)
Glenn Maxwell’s career, off late, has taken a steep high. He performed extremely well for the Kings XI Punjab in the last season since and his strike rate of 178.33 is a sign of how menacing this man from Australia can be on his day.