Aaron Finch's T20I Performance of the Year in numbers
His own competition
Finch’s 172 is the highest score in T20Is, breaking the record of 156 set by … Aaron Finch! Not only does he have two hundreds, he has the top two scores in the format. The previous record had come in 2013 against England in Southampton and he’d taken 63 balls for it.
| Player | Score | Balls | Fours | Sixes | Match | ||
| Aaron Finch | 172 | 76 | 16 | 10 | Aus v Zim, Harare, 3 Jul 2018 | ||
| Aaron Finch | 156 | 63 | 11 | 14 | Aus v Eng, Southampton, 29 Aug 2013 | ||
| Glenn Maxwell | 145* | 65 | 14 | 9 | Aus v SL, Pallekele, 6 Sep 2016 | ||
| Evin Lewis | 125* | 62 | 6 | 12 | WI v Ind, Kingston, 9 Jul 2017 | ||
| Shane Watson | 124* | 71 | 10 | 6 | Aus v Ind, Sydney, 31 Jan 2016 | ||
This is also the second-highest score in all T20s, behind Chris Gayle’s 175* off 66 balls in the Indian Premier League 2013. Finch, as captain of the opposition, was on the receiving end of that one.
A league of doubles
Finch is the second Australian after Glenn Maxwell to have two hundreds in the format. He joins Maxwell, Evin Lewis, Martin Guptill, Rohit Sharma, Brendon McCullum, Gayle and Colin Munro as the only batsmen to record two T20I centuries. Of them, Munro is the only one with three to his name.
Wohhh I’m a bit behind, but I just checked the cricket score 😱😍👏🏼 @AaronFinch5 that’s crazy, seeing them like beach balls 🏐 #AUSvZIM #bosh #flattrack
— Megan Schutt (@megan_schutt) July 3, 2018
One-man show
Finch’s 172 made up 75.11% of Australia's total of 229/2. No other batsman has contributed such a large proportion of his team’s runs in any completed international innings.
The corresponding record for other formats in men's cricket:
Tests – Charles Bannerman's 165* was 67.34% of Australia's 245 against England in 1877 in Melbourne
ODIs – Viv Richards's 189* was 69.48% of the Windies' 272/9 against England in 1984, Manchester.
2018 ICC Awards: Aaron Finch 172 – Men’s T20I Performance of the Year
The silent partner
Finch and D’Arcy Short added 223 for the first wicket. It is the first 200-run stand in T20I cricket.
| Players | Partnership | Wicket | Match |
| Aaron Finch, D’Arcy Short | 223 | 1st | Aus v Zim, Harare, 3 Jul 2018 |
| Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson | 171* | 1st | NZ v Pak, Hamilton, 17 Jan 2016 |
| Graeme Smith, Loots Bosman | 170 | 1st | SA v Eng, Centurion, 15 Nov 2009 |
A month before, Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates added 182 for the first wicket in New Zealand Women's T20I against South Africa Women at Taunton. The Australians went ahead of this record as the highest partnership for any wicket in all T20Is, men's or women's.
Short, though, was a bystander to the Finch show. When Finch got his 150, his partner was yet to reach 50.
A leather chase
Finch's innings included 16 fours and 10 sixes. Nobody has hit more boundaries in a T20I innings. In his previous record-breaking effort, he had struck 14 sixes and 11 fours.
Must be great to break your own world record 💯
— Damien Fleming (@bowlologist) July 3, 2018
Well done @AaronFinch5 👏
Currently 166 of 73 balls one over to go😲#ZIMvAUS pic.twitter.com/sn79vxQdk9
A captain's knock
It was Finch's third fifty in a row, and fourth consecutive as captain.