Yearender 2021: From Joe Root of England to Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan, Top 10 Batsmen of 2021

Bowling is a science, batting is an art! The sound of the ball in the middle of the bat has been a treat for years and the sight is a delight for the eyes. Despite the Covid-19 hiccups, 2021 offered a lot of cricket – from the inaugural World Test Championship final to the T20 World Cup 2021.

While the captain of England Joe Root Emerging as the blue-eyed boy in Test cricket this year, Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan dominated the T20I format. IndiaTV 2021 (both India and World) looks at the 10 batsmen who scored the most runs in the year 2021.

testing

Joe Root (England)
While England’s Test captain Joe Root could not lead England to many victories in the red-ball game this year, on the batting front, Root was brilliant. Root’s Willow scored 1692 runs in 15 matches (29 innings) at an impressive average of 62.66. His highest score in 2021 was 228 and he collectively scored two double centuries, six centuries and also returned for a duck. With this stellar form, he is fourth behind Mohammad Yousuf (1788), Viv Richards (1710) and Graeme Smith (1656) in the list of most Test run-scorers in a year.

Rohit Sharma (India)
India’s newly appointed vice-captain in Tests- Rohit Sharma ended a fruitful year donning the whites. After becoming an opener in the longest format of cricket since the year 2019, Rohit had a stellar performance in 2021. The senior Indian player is the leading run-scorer for India in Tests and ranks second in the list of highest run-scorers in Tests. Cricket with 906 runs in 11 matches (21 innings). Along with scoring runs on home soil, Rohit also made headlines by performing brilliantly in England. Rohit also scored two centuries in 2021 at an average of 47.68.

Dimuth Karunaratne (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lankan Test captain Dimuth Karunaratne ended a good year with the bat in the red-ball game. The 33-year-old played seven matches (13 innings) and scored 902 runs at an impressive average of 69.38. The left-hander started the year with a bang and started the year with a century against South Africa in Johannesburg. His score of 244 in Test innings was not only his personal best but also the highest runs scored by any player in the longest format of the game during 2021.

Rishabh Pant (India)

While Pant already started the year with his heroics – 97 (Sydney) and 89* (Brisbane) helped India retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, enough for the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman for the rest of 2021 as well. There was an offer. The left-handed batsman scored 748 runs in 12 matches (21 innings) at an average of 39.6. Apart from this, the Indian player also registered his first century of the year in a Test match against England.

Cheteshwar Pujara (India)
India’s batting mainstay would have managed to collect runs in tits and bits and return to fifth place for most runs in Tests
In 2021 but he kept longing for a century. Pujara played 14 matches (26 innings), scored 702 runs and returned at an average of just 28.08. Among Indians, he was the third highest run-scorer (after Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant) in Tests during 2021.

ODI
Paul Stirling (Ireland)
Ireland opener Paul Stirling topped the list of highest run-scorers in ODIs during 2021. Sterling did well with the bat as he scored 705 runs in 14 matches (14 innings) this year at an impressive average of 54.23. During this, he also scored three centuries and two half-centuries. Sterling recorded his best score – 131*.

Sweetheart Malan (South Africa)
Young Cannon Jaaneman Malan of South Africa made many headlines this year by scoring runs in ODI cricket at an average of 84.83. In the year 2021, he scored 509 runs in eight matches (seven innings) which included 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries. 177* was Malan’s highest score this year.

T20I

Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)

Pakistan’s opener in the white ball game- Mohammad Rizwan almost won the T20I format of cricket in 2021. His performance turned heads as the Pakistani batsman scored 1326 runs in 29 matches (26 innings), making him the only batsman to reach it. 1000 runs in the shortest format of the game. He clocked an impressive average of 73.66. Rizwan also scored 12 half-centuries and 1 century during this period.

Babar Azmi (Pakistan)
Pakistan captain and opener Babar Azam’s quest for runs was no less in the shortest format of the game in 2021. After scoring 939 runs in 29 matches (26 innings), Babar is second only to Mohammad Rizwan in the list of highest run-scorers in T20Is. Cricket. Babar, along with Rizwan, was the main architect in leading Pakistan to the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2021 and defeating India for the first time in any World Cup format cricket.

Martin Guptill (New Zealand)

New Zealand opener- Martin Guptill finished third in the list of highest run-scorers in T20I cricket this year. Guptill scored 678 runs in 18 matches (18 innings) at an average of 37.66 for his side. On the basis of his brilliant performance, the Kiwi team reached the final of the T20 World Cup but could not get their hands on Australia’s winning gleaming trophy.