Top 5 T20I run-getters in 2017
T20 cricket this year has witnessed some fabulous moments. With the format demanding big hitting over nudging the ball through the gaps, batsmen have been granted a free license which has only made the job of the bowlers harder.
While the ability to thread the ball through the gaps for singles and twos is still a useful asset to have, the attacking approach to batting has given a new outlook to the game.
As the calendar year comes to a close, here is the list of the top run-getters in the T20I format this year:
#T-5 Virat Kohli and Mohammad Shahzad - 299 runs
The Indian skipper was in fine form with the bat in the T20 format this year as he amassed 299 runs from 10 games at an average of 37.37 and a strike rate of 152.00, finishing as the highest run-getter for India.
Opening the batting alongside KL Rahul, Kohli did not have the best of starts, scoring only 52 runs in three games against England at home. However, he hit a purple patch against Sri Lanka in early September, compiling 82 runs off 54 balls, to earn the Man of the Match award.
A rare lean patch against Australia was followed by quality knocks against the touring New Zealand side as the skipper helped himself to a half-century, helping India win the series.
Mohammad Shehzad, the dashing right-hander from Afghanistan, was also at the top of his game this calendar year, amassing 299 runs from just seven matches at an average of 49.83 and strike rate of 131.71.
Shahzad enjoyed a good run in the Desert T20 Challenge where he scored 176 runs from four matches, including a quickfire fifty in the final to emerge as the top run-getter in the tournament.
He carried his form into the three-match T20 series against Ireland where he scored yet another half-century and finished with an average of 41 from three games.