Rahkeem Cornwall slams unbeaten T20 double century in USA's Atlanta Open
West Indies all-rounder Rahkeem Cornwall dished out an innings for the ages by scoring an unbeaten double century on Wednesday, October 5, in the USA-based T20 league Atlanta Open. The Caribbean ace scored 205 runs off just 77 deliveries, which included 17 fours and 22 sixes.
Cornwall ended up with a whopping strike rate of 266.77, propelling his team, the Atlanta Fire, to a whopping total of 326-1 in 20 overs. The opponents, Square Drive, fell well short of the target and lost the contest by 172 runs.
The Atlanta Open consists of 16 teams divided into four groups. The winner of the competition is slated to receive $75,000.
The heavy-hitting all-rounder has shown his brute ability with the bat in the past as well, albeit not at this scale. He is yet to represent West Indies in white-ball formats, having last represented the national side in a Test match against Sri Lanka last year.
Cornwall's blistering knock will not be a part of the official records
Despite Cornwall's eye-boggling feat, his unbeaten innings of 208 will not go into the history books with the Atlanta Open not being a recognized tournament. The record for the highest T20 score still remains with Chris Gayle, who slammed 175 runs for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2013.
Cornwall, who also bowls off-spin, recently had a lukewarm Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2022 campaign for the Barbados Royals. The all-rounder scored a sublime 91 in Qualifier 1 to steer the side into the finals, where they lost against the Jamaica Tallawahs.
The Antigua-born player termed himself as a 360-degree player ahead of the CPL 2022 final. He said:
"I think I'm strong enough down the ground or any area - [I'm] a 360[-degree] player. So, I just have to focus on shot selection and wait till the ball is in my area to put it away."
Will the all-rounder find himself in the West Indies' white-ball setup soon? Let us know what you think.