Aaron Finch’s 172 is still the highest individual score in a T20 international, eight years after he made it. Playing for Australia against Zimbabwe at Harare on 3 July 2018, he hit 16 fours and 10 sixes from 76 balls and Australia finished on 229 for 2.
Almost everything under him has moved. The second and third highest T20I scores were both made in 2026, and both by associate-nation batters — and of the 22 innings of 133 or more in T20I cricket, 14 belong to associate teams.
Highest individual score in T20I cricket
Every innings of 133 or more in men’s T20 internationals, ranked by runs and complete to 8 September 2026. Source: ESPNcricinfo.
| Rank | Player | Team | Opponent | Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aaron Finch | Australia | Zimbabwe | 172 | 76 | 16 | 10 | 3 Jul 2018 |
| 2 | Hamza Khan | Rwanda | Ivory Coast | 164* | 65 | 9 | 15 | 24 May 2026 |
| 3 | Karanbir Singh | Austria | Hungary | 164 | 57 | 18 | 12 | 28 Jun 2026 |
| 4 | Hazratullah Zazai | Afghanistan | Ireland | 162* | 62 | 11 | 16 | 23 Feb 2019 |
| 5 | Mohammad Ihsan | Spain | Croatia | 160 | 63 | 5 | 17 | 7 Dec 2025 |
| 6 | Aaron Finch | Australia | England | 156 | 63 | 11 | 14 | 29 Aug 2013 |
| 7 | Sacha de Alwis | Cayman Islands | Brazil | 150* | 67 | 7 | 13 | 14 Dec 2024 |
| 8 | Connor Carroll | Croatia | Switzerland | 150* | 72 | 13 | 10 | 19 May 2026 |
| 9 | Glenn Maxwell | Australia | Sri Lanka | 145* | 65 | 14 | 9 | 6 Sep 2016 |
| 10 | Sahil Chauhan | Estonia | Cyprus | 144* | 41 | 6 | 18 | 17 Jun 2024 |
| 11 | Phil Salt | England | South Africa | 141* | 60 | 15 | 8 | 12 Sep 2025 |
| 12 | Anshuman Rath | Hong Kong | Oman | 140* | 56 | 13 | 10 | 5 Jun 2026 |
| 13 | Kushal Malla | Nepal | Mongolia | 137* | 50 | 8 | 12 | 27 Sep 2023 |
| 14 | Zeeshan Kukikhel | Hungary | Austria | 137 | 49 | 7 | 15 | 5 Jun 2022 |
| 15 | Finn Allen | New Zealand | Pakistan | 137 | 62 | 5 | 16 | 17 Jan 2024 |
| 16 | Michael Levitt | Netherlands | Namibia | 135 | 62 | 11 | 10 | 29 Feb 2024 |
| 17 | Abhishek Sharma | India | England | 135 | 54 | 7 | 13 | 2 Feb 2025 |
| 18 | Lachlan Yamamoto-Lake | Japan | China | 134* | 68 | 8 | 12 | 15 Feb 2024 |
| 19 | Jan Frylinck | Namibia | Nigeria | 134 | 65 | 15 | 6 | 28 Sep 2025 |
| 20 | Max O’Dowd | Netherlands | Malaysia | 133* | 73 | 15 | 6 | 18 Apr 2021 |
| 21 | Sikandar Raza | Zimbabwe | Gambia | 133* | 43 | 7 | 15 | 23 Oct 2024 |
| 22 | Ben Kohler-Cadmore | Germany | Austria | 133* | 58 | 17 | 6 | 1 May 2026 |
Aaron Finch, 172 and 156
Finch holds first and sixth place on the list above, and the score he beat in 2018 was his own.
The first was 156 from 63 balls against England at Southampton on 29 August 2013, with 11 fours and 14 sixes. It beat Brendon McCullum’s 123 against Bangladesh at Pallekele in the 2012 World T20, and stood for just under five years.
Finch broke it himself at Harare on 3 July 2018, in the opening match of a tri-series with Zimbabwe and Pakistan. 172 from 76 balls, 16 fours and 10 sixes, out of Australia’s 229 for 2. Nobody has come closer than eight runs to it since.
The scores that have moved
Five of the top eight now belong to associate nations, and four of those five were made since December 2025.
Hamza Khan, 164 not out for Rwanda against the Ivory Coast at Gaborone on 24 May 2026 — 65 balls, nine fours, 15 sixes, in a Rwanda total of 288 for 2. It is the second-highest score in T20I history and the highest by an associate batter.
Karanbir Singh, 164 for Austria against Hungary at Szodliget on 28 June 2026, from 57 balls with 18 fours and 12 sixes. Austria made 322 for 7, the second-highest total in T20I cricket.
Mohammad Ihsan, 160 for Spain against Croatia at Cartagena on 7 December 2025, from 63 balls with 17 sixes, in a Spain total of 290 for 3.
Hazratullah Zazai’s 162 not out for Afghanistan against Ireland at Dehradun on 23 February 2019 sits between them. That innings came from 62 balls with 11 fours and 16 sixes, and carried Afghanistan to 278 for 3.
Highest individual T20I score by an India batter
Abhishek Sharma’s 135 against England at the Wankhede Stadium on 2 February 2025 is the highest T20I score by an India batter. He faced 54 balls and hit seven fours and 13 sixes, and it is the only India innings in the top 20.
The five India innings behind it are Shubman Gill’s 126 not out against New Zealand at Ahmedabad in 2023, Ruturaj Gaikwad’s 123 not out against Australia at Guwahati in 2023, Virat Kohli’s 122 not out against Afghanistan at Dubai in 2022, Rohit Sharma’s 121 not out against Afghanistan at Bengaluru in 2024 and Tilak Varma’s 120 not out against South Africa at Johannesburg in 2024.
Rohit Sharma’s 118 from 43 balls against Sri Lanka at Indore on 22 December 2017 is now seventh on the India list, though it remains one of the most destructive innings an India batter has played — India made 260 for 5, and his hundred came off 35 balls. The fastest century in T20 cricket now belongs to Sahil Chauhan, who reached three figures in 27 balls for Estonia against Cyprus in June 2024 — the 144 not out that sits tenth on the list above.
Highest individual score in all T20 cricket
Finch’s 172 is third on the list once domestic T20 is included. Lhuan-dre Pretorius’s 188 not out for Titans against Knights on 2 October 2026 is the highest individual score in any T20 match. It broke the record of Chris Gayle’s 175 not out for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors at the Chinnaswamy on 23 April 2013 — 66 balls, 13 fours, 17 sixes — which had stood for 13 years. Our page on the highest individual score in T20 cricket has that list in full, and the highest individual score in the Indian T20 League covers the IPL.
Highest individual score in T20I cricket: quick answers
What is the highest individual score in T20I cricket? Aaron Finch’s 172 for Australia against Zimbabwe at Harare on 3 July 2018.
Who has the second-highest T20I score? Hamza Khan, 164 not out for Rwanda against the Ivory Coast in May 2026.
What is the highest T20I score by an Indian? Abhishek Sharma’s 135 against England at the Wankhede in February 2025.
How many T20I innings of 150 or more have there been? Eight, by seven different batters. Finch is the only one to have done it twice.
What is the highest team total in a T20 international? Zimbabwe’s 344 for 4 against Gambia at Nairobi on 23 October 2024.
See also our lists of the highest strike rate in T20 cricket and the most sixes in T20 cricket.
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Author: William Paul
Featured photo: AFP / ISHARA S. KODIKARA